We’ve long admired the weeping elm at the JC Raulston Arboretum, and the specimen at JLBG (below) was rooted as a cutting in 2018 from their plant, which has long been labeled Ulmus minor var. minor ‘Pendula’. When we starting digging deeper on its background, we became even more confused. First, the plant is not the Central Asian field elm, Ulmus minor, but instead is Siberian elm, Ulmus pumila.
As it turned out, the plant at JCRA came from the former mail order nursery, Arborvillage, which originally listed it as Ulmus carpinifolia, which is now a synonym of Ulmus pumila var. pumila. When we checked our library of catalogs, Arborvillage had changed the name in their 2003 catalog, to reflect the corrected identity, listing it then as Ulmus pumila ‘Dwarf Weeper’, and indicating an origin in an Illinois garden. Since it roots quite easily from cuttings, perhaps some specialty woody plant nurseries will put this amazing specimen in production.
