Ulmus minor Louis van Houtte - Elm

The 'Ulmus minor 'Louis Van Houtte' is an exceptional elm tree that fascinates with its truly golden foliage from spring to autumn. It is a tall tree with a wide habit and superb foliage. Appreciated for the shade it provides in summer and its usefulness to the garden's small fauna, this elm with small leaves deserves a place of honour in a large garden. Perfectly adapted to our climates, very hardy, and able to adapt to a wide range of neutral to alkaline soils, including heavy, chalky, and relatively dry soils, this tree is unfortunately susceptible to Dutch elm disease.

The Ulmus minor (syn. Ulmus campestris) is native to a vast area covering Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. It is a member of the Elm family, like the Hackberry (Celtis) and the Siberian Elm (Zelkova). Nowadays, the Field Elm can still be found here and there, in the form of coppices regularly cut back due to disease. Dutch elm disease affects most elm trees, but few can resist it. Horticultural varieties of the species also exist, with smaller but attractive growth.

'Louis Van Houtte' is an old horticultural variety that is said to have been first cultivated in Ghent, Belgium, around 1863. It is sometimes marketed under Ulmus montana lutescens van Houttei, U. minor foliis flavescentibus, U. procera, U. campestris 'Louis van Houtte', U. 'Vanhouttei'. This tree has practically the same growth as the botanical species, with a generally upright habit and a vast crown. Ultimately, it can reach 25 to 26 m (82 to 85ft) in height and 15 to 20 m (49 to 66ft) in spread. It is narrow and sometimes ungainly when young, but it then rounds out to take on a well-balanced silhouette. The bark that covers the trunk and branches, initially smooth, cracks over time. In the 'Louis Van Houtte' Elm, on older trees, the vertically cracked bark has characteristic square scale-like cracks. The foliage resembles that of hazelnut and alder, but in this tree, the lamina is curiously asymmetrical at the base, at the petiole level. The small leaves, measuring 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3in) in length, are elliptical and rounded with a pointed tip. Their surface is rough to the touch, and they have finely toothed edges. In this variety, the classic bright green of the species is replaced by a remarkable yellow tone in spring, with the yellow turning green in summer on older subjects. Before falling, this deciduous foliage takes on a rich yellow colour in autumn. The tree produces inconspicuous flowering in March-April, before the leaves appear, with clusters of small red flowers developing on two-year-old branches. These flowers are followed, on female trees and in the presence of male subjects, by bicoloured winged fruits, light red in the centre and lime-green on the edges.

Thriving in neutral, alkaline soils, this tree appreciates a certain degree of moisture but can tolerate drier conditions when deeply rooted.

This 'Louis Van Houtte' Elm is suitable for large estates and parks due to its substantial growth. It pairs beautifully with purple-leaved trees such as the Acer platanoides Crimson King, a large Norway Maple with almost black vegetation that contrasts beautifully with the golden attire of the 'Louis Van Houtte' Elm. Also, consider planting it near the Purple Beech (Fagus sylvatica Atropurpurea).

Ulmus minor, the Field Elm, sometimes called the Small Elm or Elmlet, was a grand and beautiful deciduous tree emblematic of all our landscapes before a formidable Dutch elm disease epidemic decimated large specimens in the 1970s. Today, it survives in a few parks and gardens where it can reach a great age. Several venerable specimens of the 'Louis Van Houtte' variety can be seen in Sweden. The largest known specimen reigns in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens in New Zealand. The tree reaches a height of 27.7 m (91ft), and its crown measures 31.10 m (102ft) in width.