| Ulmus × hollandica | |
|---|---|
'Jacqueline Hillier', Westonbirt, England. Photo: Ronnie Nijboer, Bonte Hoek kwekerijen. |
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| Details | |
| Hybrid parentage | U. glabra × U. minor var. plotii |
| Cultivar | 'Jacqueline Hillier' |
| Origin | England |
The 'dwarf' elm 'Jacqueline Hillier' ('JH') is believed to be a cultivar from the Elegantissima Group of Ulmus × hollandica, though uncertainty about its parentage has led some nurserymen to list it simply as Ulmus 'Jacqueline Hillier'. It was cloned from a specimen found in a garden in Birmingham, England, circa 1960.[1] [2]
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With time 'JH' makes a large shrub, then a small tree, initially of dense habit, but spreading with age if left unpruned. It bears small, double-toothed scabrid leaves 2.5 cm to 3.5 cm long on densely hairy twigs. In winter its tidy 'herringbone' branches and branchlets proclaim it an elm, despite its shrublike size.
Resistance to Dutch elm disease is not known, but is probably academic as the tree is unlikely to attain the height at which it would attract the attention of the bark beetles that act as vectors of the disease. In trials in the USA, 'JH' was found to be virtually unaffected by the Elm Leaf Beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola [3].
'JH' is commonly found in cultivation in Europe and the USA [3], where it is considered particularly suitable for small gardens, rockeries, low hedges, and bonsai. A hardy tree, it is said to survive temperatures as low as - 25° F. ( - 32° C.) in North America.[4] Despite its dwarf nature and its reputation as a slow-grower, 'JH' is said to grow 6 ft by 6 ft in ten years [5] - faster than the dwarf wych elm 'Nana'.
The cultivar was named for a daughter-in-law of Sir Harold Hillier by Roy Lancaster, erstwhile Curator of the Hillier Arboretum.
A specimen in North Walk in the University Parks, Oxford, has attained a height of 3 m and a crown girth of over 10 m.[6]
Widely available
Widely available