Yes. A disease resistant American elm is stock you can order right now, and NDSU Extension names Prairie Expedition, Jefferson and St. Croix as selections that hold up against the disease that took out the old street trees. All three are true American elms, not lookalikes borrowed from another species. You get the same short trunk, the same long limbs, and the same tall vase shape you see in the old street photos.
The grass on the south side of my lot turns brown by the middle of July. Nothing tall has ever grown there, so the sun sits on that ground from noon until it drops behind the garage. I planted nothing in that spot for two seasons because I thought elms were a closed subject. Then I found the resistant American elms listed out by name, three of them, sold like any other shade tree.
Resistant is the word these trees carry, and you should not read that as immune. What you do get back is the arching branch habit that made the American elm a street tree. Limbs rise from a short trunk, then bend out until they meet over the pavement. The Asian hybrids Triumph and Accolade are rated resistant too, with rich green leaves. You will not mistake that shape for an American elm.
The Prairie Expedition elm is a university release, so an institution put its name on that tree before you ever saw it on a sale bench. The other two American elm selections come with the same kind of paper trail. Some garden centers advertise Dutch elm disease resistant trees. Then the tag says nothing but American elm. Treat that as an unfinished answer and ask which one is in your pot.
Lacebark elm sits in the same aisle at most nurseries, and you are looking at a different species. Expect 40 to 60 feet (12 to 18 m) tall and 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 m) wide at full size, with growth fast enough to earn a spot on shade tree lists. You get a good tree for a hot corner of a yard. You do not get the vase shape, so buy a lacebark because you want a lacebark.
Get the selection name written on your receipt, not just spoken at the counter. Elm cultivars get swapped and relabeled between the grower and the parking lot. A tag that reads only American elm tells you nothing about resistance. Check the paperwork before you pay, and you keep something you can point at later if the tree turns out to be a hybrid you never asked for.
Resistant is a rating and not a guarantee, and a healthy tree is the best defense against anything it meets in its lifetime. Give it the full room its mature size needs on the day you plant it.
Spacing decides more than most buyers expect. Keep your tree half its mature spread away from any structure, so a tree headed for a 40 foot (12 m) spread belongs about 20 feet (6 m) off the house. Leave a full mature width between your elm and the next big tree. My brown south lawn had that room. Most lots do, once you measure instead of guess.
Read the full article: Fast Growing Trees: What Speed Really Costs
