The elm

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

''Ulmus'' 'Hillieri' arose from a chance seedling at Hillier's Pitt Corner nursery near Winchester, England, in 1918, and was marketed from 1928 as ''Ulmus hillieri'', a name accepted by

Christine Buisman Christine Johanna Buisman (; 22 March 1900 – 27 March 1936) was a Dutch phytopathologist who dedicated her short career to the research of Dutch elm disease and the selection of resistant elm seedlings. In 1927, Buisman provided the final proof ...

in her 1931 labelling of a specimen in France. Since at least 1944 the tree has been determined a form of ''Ulmus'' × ''hollandica'', its designation at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...

, in

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

, and in later Hillier catalogues. In 1940, 'Hillieri' was noted as being a

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

of uncertain origin. Krüssmann notes that for a time the tree was listed by Hilliers as ''U.'' × ''hillieri''. Not to be confused with ''Ulmus'' 'Jacqueline Hillier', which also has a shrubby habit but much smaller leaves.

Description

'Hillieri' is a graceful, compact, slow-growing miniature tree rarely > 1.2 m in height,The 2002 edition of ''The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs'' misprints as "usually less than ''12 m'' high" (p.369). widely branched and bearing weeping branches. The small leaves (5 – 7 cm by 2.5 – 3 cm) turn crimson and yellow in favourable autumns,''Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs''. (1977). David & Charles,

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its 2011 population of 24,029 was estimated to reach 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in the Victorian era as the home of the So ...

, UK. a feature of at least one

Japanese Elm Japanese elm is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * ''Ulmus davidiana'' var. ''japonica'' *''Zelkova serrata ''Zelkova serrata'' (Japanese zelkova, Japanese elm or keyaki or keaki; ja, 欅 (ケヤキ) keyaki /槻 (ツキ) tsu ...

cultivar, 'Jacan'. The 'vivid scarlet' of the autumn leaves was noted (1940) as being a unique colouring for elms. File:BH00056 Ulmus. Stanmer Park Arboretum, Brighton. (6).jpg, 'Hillieri' in Stanmer Park Arboretum, spring File:BH00056 Ulmus. Stanmer Park Arboretum, Brighton. (3).jpg, Fruit of same

Pests and diseases

The degree of the tree's susceptibility to

Dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...

(DED) is unknown. It has been noted that shrub-elms are usually less prone to infection.

Cultivation

A specimen stood in the

Arboretum national des Barres The Arboretum national des Barres (35 hectares) is a national arboretum located in Nogent-sur-Vernisson, Loiret, Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is open daily in the warmer months; an admission fee is charged. Closure is planned for the end of ye ...

Nogent-sur-Vernisson Nogent-sur-Vernisson () is a commune in the eastern part of the Loiret department in the Centre-Val de Loire region central-north France. It had a population of 2,589 in 2019. The main employer in the town is the CIMRG plant which manufactures ...

, France, in the 1930s. Sheet described as ''Ulmus hillieri'',

specimen,

(1931) 'Hillier' was introduced to the US in 1954 as ''Ulmus hillieri''.Plant Inventory No. 162
213985
/ref> An old low shrub-elm in Stanmer Park Arboretum, Brighton (2018, now storm-damaged), planted in the winter of 1965-6, with level rather than pendulous branching and leaves closely matching 'Hillieri' herbarium specimens in

and the Arboretum national des Barres, was said (2018) by Hillier Nurseries, who supplied many elms to the arboretum, to be 'Hillieri', though it is about 4 m tall and lacks crimson autumn colour. Dutch authorities who examined the tree in 2010 conjectured Japanese Elm hybrid. A tree cultivated in Denmark as ''Ulmus × hollandica'' 'Hillieri' or ''Dukke-elm'' (:Doll's elm) appears from photographs to be ''U.'' 'Jacqueline Hillier'. A tree in the Arboretum Volčji Potok, Slovenia, labelled ''Ulmus × hollandica'' 'Hillieri', has leaves much smaller than those of 'Hillieri', and may be a form of dwarf ''

Ulmus parvifolia ''Ulmus parvifolia'', commonly known as the Chinese elm or lacebark elm, is a species native to eastern Asia, including China, India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Fu, L., Xin, Y. & Whittemore, A. (2002)Ulmaceae in Wu, Z. & Raven, P. (eds) ''Flora of ...

''.Arboretum Volčji Potok, leaves photo
/ref>

Synonymy

*''Ulmus hillieri'' Hort.: Hillier & Sons, Winchester, England. Cat. 38T, p. 52, 1928.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulmus x hollandica 'Hillieri' Elm cultivars Ulmus