Ulmus 'Jacqueline Hillier'

The 'dwarf' elm cultivar Ulmus 'Jacqueline Hillier' ('JH') is an elm of uncertain origin. It was cloned from a specimen found in a private garden in Selly Park, Birmingham, England, in 1966.[1][2][3] The garden's owner told Hillier that it might have been introduced from outside the country by a relative.[4] Hillier at first conjectured U. minor, as did Heybroek (2009).[5][6] Identical-looking elm cultivars in Russia (if they are not imported 'JH') are labelled forms of Siberian Elm, Ulmus pumila,[7][8] which is known to produce 'JH'-type long shoots. Melville considered 'JH' a hybrid cultivar from the 'Elegantissima' group of Ulmus × hollandica. Uncertainty about its parentage has led most nurserymen to list the tree simply as Ulmus 'Jacqueline Hillier'. 'JH' is not known to produce flowers and samarae, or (when grown from cuttings) root suckers.

Ulmus 'Jacqueline Hillier'
'Jacqueline Hillier', Arènes de Lutèce, Paris, 2007
GenusUlmus
Cultivar'Jacqueline Hillier'
OriginEngland

Not to be confused with Ulmus × hollandica 'Hillieri', an older miniature elm from the same nursery.

Description

With time 'JH' makes a large shrub, then a small tree, initially of dense habit, but spreading with age if left unpruned. It bears small, double-toothed scabrid leaves 2.5 cm to 3.5 cm long on densely hairy twigs. In winter its tidy 'herringbone' branches and branchlets proclaim it an elm, despite its shrublike size.

  • Foliage of 'JH'
  • Bark of 'JH'
  • Same

Pests and diseases

Resistance to Dutch elm disease is not known, but is probably academic as the tree is unlikely to attain the height at which it would attract the attention of the bark beetles that act as vectors of the disease. In trials in the United States, 'JH' was found to be virtually unaffected by the Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola .

Cultivation

'JH' is commonly found in cultivation in Europe and the United States,[9] where it is considered particularly suitable for small gardens, rockeries, low hedges, and bonsai. A hardy tree, it is said to survive temperatures as low as −25 °F (−32 °C) in North America.[10] Despite its dwarf nature and its reputation as a slow-grower, 'JH' is said to grow 6 ft (1.8 m) by 6 ft (1.8 m) in ten years,[10] faster than the dwarf wych elm 'Nana'.

Etymology

The cultivar was named for a daughter-in-law of Sir Harold Hillier by Roy Lancaster, when Curator of the Hillier Arboretum.

Notable trees

The UK TROBI Champion grows at Talbot Manor in Norfolk, measuring 8 m high by 28 cm d.b.h. in 2008. Another at Exbury Gardens in Hampshire measured 6 m high by 35 cm d.b.h. in 2006 [11] In keeping with the ancient tradition of planting funerary elms to commemorate the dead, specimens of 'Jacqueline Hillier' were planted on either side of the memorial to the dead in the Quintinshill rail disaster, Britain's worst rail disaster, in Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh.

  • 'JH' beside the Quintinshill Rail Disaster Memorial, Rosebank Cemetery, Edinburgh.

Accessions
North America
Europe
Australasia

Nurseries
North America

Widely available

Europe

Widely available

References
  1. Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. Ed. 4, 399, (1977); David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK
  2. 'Gardeners Chronicle & New Horticulturist', 1968
  3. Wyman, Donald (1967). "More plant registrations". Arnoldia. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 27 (8): 66. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  4. "Dwarf elm". The Garden. Royal Horticultural Society. 130: 490. 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  5. Goudzwaard, L. (2011). Een nieuwe toekomst met nieuwe én oude iepen. p. 14.
  6. Heybroek, H. M. (2009). Iep of olm : karakterboom van de lage landen (in Dutch). Zeist: KNNV. ISBN 978-90-5011-281-9.
  7. "Вяз. Виды, сорта, посадка, уход" [Elm; types, sorts, planting, care]. 7sotok.by (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  8. "Вяз мелколистный, или приземистый (Ильмовик) - Ulmus pumila L." [Siberian elm, or dwarf elm - Ulmus pumila L.]. green-men.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  9. Photograph of 'JH' in the Netherlands
  10. "Dwarf Elm | Ulmus x hollandica 'Jacqueline Hillier': Gardening". learn2grow.com. Retrieved 2017-08-31.
  11. Johnson, O. (2011). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland, 169. Kew Publishing, Kew, London. ISBN 9781842464526.
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