Ulmus glabra 'Horizontalis'

The Wych Elm cultivar Ulmus glabra 'Horizontalis', commonly known as the Weeping Wych Elm or Horizontal Elm, was discovered in a Perth nursery circa 1816. The tree was originally identified as 'Pendula' by Loddiges (London), in his catalogue of 1836, a name adopted by Loudon two years later in Arboretum et Fruticetum Britannicum, 3: 1398, 1838, but later sunk as a synonym for 'Horizontalis'.[1]

Fine examples around the cathedral in 2007

Ulmus glabra 'Horizontalis'
'Horizontalis', Seafield Cemetery, Edinburgh
SpeciesUlmus glabra
Cultivar'Horizontalis'
OriginPerth, Scotland

Description

'Horizontalis' has branches that extend out horizontally with weeping branchlets. It is usually grafted onto a tall understock of Ulmus glabra to effectively display its weeping habit. The tree can eventually grow to a height of 20 metres with a similar spread.[2] It can be distinguished from the related Camperdown Elm by its more spreading and flattened canopy and much larger mature size, although its shape does vary widely, as noted by Loudon: "A beautiful...tree generally growing to one side, spreading its branches out in a fan-like manner...sometimes horizontally and at other times almost perpendicularly downwards so that the head of the tree exhibits great variety of shape".[3]

  • Dried short-shoot 'Horizontalis' leaves (August)
  • 'Horizontalis', St Philip's Cathedral churchyard, Birmingham
  • Top of 'Horizontalis' in Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton, UK, in 1988
  • An expert graft, for even, horizontal growth
  • 'Horizontalis' samarae

Pests and diseases

'Horizontalis' is not known to be any less susceptible to Dutch elm disease than the species.

Cultivation

The cultivar was found in a bed of seedling in the Perth Nursery, the plant was purchased by Booth of Hamburg, Germany who then distributed it.[2][4] Specimens supplied by the Späth nursery to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in 1902 as U. montana 'Horizontalis' may survive in Edinburgh as it was the practice of the Garden to distribute trees about the city (viz. the Wentworth Elm);[5] the current list of Living Accessions held in the Garden per se does not list the plant.[6]

'Horizontalis' was also known to have been marketed in Poland in the 19th century by the Ulrich nursery.[7] Warsaw.

Notable trees

There are two notable T.R.O.B.I. "champion" trees in the British Isles: one at Rathmullan House, County Donegal, measuring 6 metres (20 ft) high by 114 centimetres (45 in) DBH in 2010, and the other at Glen Mooar, Isle of Man, measuring 14 metres (46 ft) high by 84 centimetres (33 in) DBH in 1998.[8]

  • Old 'Horizontalis', Ballarat Botanical Garden, Australia

Synonymy

Varieties

A variegated sport of 'Horizontalis', 'Pendula Variegata', was in cultivation in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Accessions
North America
Europe

Australasia

Nurseries

Europe
  • Arboretum Waasland , Nieuwkerken-Waas, Belgium, (as U. glabra 'Pendula').
  • Boomwekerijen 'De Batterijen', Ochten, Netherlands (as Ulmus glabra Pendula)
  • Dulford Nurseries, Cullompton, Devon, UK (as Ulmus glabra 'Pendula')
  • UmbraFlor , Spello, Italy (as Ulmus montana 'Pendula')
  • Westerveld Boomkwekerij B.V., Opheusden, The Netherlands (as Ulmus glabra 'Pendula').

Australasia
  • Established Tree Transplanters Pty. Ltd., Wandin, Victoria, Australia.

References
  1. Green, Peter Shaw (1964). "Registration of cultivar names in Ulmus". Arnoldia. Arnold Arboretum, Harvard University. 24 (6–8): 41–80. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  2. Elwes, Henry John; Henry, Augustine (1913). The Trees of Great Britain & Ireland. 7. p. 1867.
  3. Nicholson, George (1888). The illustrated dictionary of gardening. 8. p. 120.
  4. "Arbocultural Notices". The Gardener's Magazine. 9: 442. 1843.
  5. Accessions book. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. 1902. pp. 45, 47.
  6. "List of Living Accessions: Ulmus". Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  7. Ulrich, C. (1894), Katalog Drzew i Krezewow, C. Ulrich, Rok 1893-94, Warszawa
  8. Johnson, Owen (19 May 2011). Champion Trees of Britain & Ireland. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p. 169. ISBN 9781842464526..
  9. "List of plants in the {elm} collection". Brighton & Hove City Council. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
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