Popular Woodworking 2004-08 № 142, страница 70

The devastation of Dutch elm disease is apparent in these two pictures of Collingham Street in Detroit. The elms that gracefully lined the street during the summer of 1974 (left) had been removed by 1981 (below).

Roger Holloway, a woodworker and owner of Riveredge Farms in Atlanta, sells Princeton elms. The Princeton elm was selected by a professional nurseryman in 1920 (before Dutch elm disease hit) for its appealing shape.

The nurseryman grafted this elm's cuttings onto American elm root stock, produced identical specimens, named it the Princeton elm and began selling cultivars in 1922, according to americanelm.com.

But in the 1930s, Dutch elm disease hit and production of elm cultivars halted. Years later, scientists discovered that the Princeton elm was tolerant to the disease.

Holloway now sells Princeton elms across the country, targeting urban sites, including Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., where there are plans to plant 1,000 Princeton elms. Holloway estimates he has sold more than 20,000 trees.

William Monroe, a retired businessman who was instrumental in replanting hundreds of elms around Cincinnati, chose the Princeton elm as the cultivar of choice. None of the Princeton elms planted around the city has succumbed to Dutch elm disease,

according to Larry Parker, a service area coordinator with the Cincinnati Park Board.

Since 1983, more than 250,000 Liberty elms have been planted in the United States, according to the Elm Research Institute. The institute has confirmed less than 100 cases of Dutch elm disease among the planted elms.

Deciding which elm cultivar is best is a matter of debate. Some say that while equal in tolerance, the Princeton elm has a more classic, vase-like look than Valley Forge and New Harmony. But others argue the exact opposite. Many say Liberty elms aren't as tolerant as the others to the disease.

The Future of Elm

As awareness of Dutch elm disease-tolerant American elms continues to grow, urban sites and historical monuments will continue to be revitalized with this once familiar and favored tree. And with time, these elms could eventually make their way into lumberyards and woodshops - especially if the emerald ash borer has anything to say about it.

The emerald ash borer, a beetle from Asia, was first discovered attacking ash trees in

summer 2002. To date, areas of southern Michigan; Windsor, Canada; northwest Ohio and a nursery in Maryland all have reported diseased trees, says Steven Katovich a forest entomologist with the Forest Service. Already 6 million to 7 million ash trees have died in the six counties that surround Detroit. Some predict the beetles will be as devastat-

ing as Dutch elm disease and the chestnut blight.

Shade, the owner of The Botany Shop, predicts that if the ash borer spreads despite attempts to stop it, American elms could replace the thousands of ash trees that could die from the disease.

Several lumberyards have stopped carrying ash, not because of emerald ash borers but because

About 5,000 Valley Forge elms are growing in The Botany Shop's propagation house in Joplin, Mo., during the winter season to increase production.

68

Popular Woodworking August 2004