Growing Grass Under the Princeton American Elms

Ever since there has been grass growing around and under trees in our yards it has been a job to keep the grass green, thick and lush under the canopy of these trees. Shade trees do their job well and sometimes to well. Some shade trees have high feeding roots that suck the moisture away from the grass and basically compete with the grass for water and nutrients. Like all American Elms the Princeton American Elm has deep feeding roots that go deep into the ground which secures the tree very well and does not have a lot of top feeding roots as do most other shade trees have.

8" Caliper Princeton in

Fescue Lawn..NICE!!!

The tree will always win this battle and the grass dries up and has nothing to feed on. Allot of these shade trees are also small headed and don’t shade as well as the more upright mature Princeton American Elms do.

Several studies have been done by the US Forestry Service that have concluded that American Elms are soil improving trees because the leaf drop adds a lot of potassium and calcium back into the soil thus improving it. The leaves also breakdown and decompose more rapidly than most other shade trees do.

I recommend taking a mulching mower and running over and grind up the leaf litter and let the grass come up thru the litter. This will help the soil around the tree by adding back vital nutrients and moisture that the grass and tree both need. But you will need to continue with the fertilizer program and watch the PH for the grass. The Princeton’s are much less adversely affected by a low or high PH, so I would adjust it to suit your grass needs.

Another point to be made is that the large mature tree canopy is very tall and upright with long graceful limbs that lets filtered sun light fall to the ground that the grass has to have. With the fact that the Princeton American Elm will give you years of shade, grass will grow under the tree if taken care of and the leaf litter adds nutrients back into the soil while not competing for as much moisture as other shade trees makes the Princeton American Elm the perfect shade tree. It simply does all of the good things listed above and then some. Oh yea, did I mention it sequesters carbon faster and produces more oxygen than just about all the native trees do in all of North America. I will cover that later in another report.

Scott Bowen, Grower, Sharp Top Trees

Ohio City Schools - One Lonely Elm!

Mr. Bookhardt,

I am the grounds Supervisor for Columbus City Schools and I mentioned that we have a mature American Elm at one of our facilities. You asked me to send you some pictures with a little information.

The tree is at our Fort Hayes Career Center. Fort Hayes started as an arsenal in the mid 1860. It was an active military base through the Vietnam years. In the 1970's Columbus City Schools took control of the 50 acres and its buildings and created a career center. Sections of the site are currently being renovated and one new building has just been completed.

The American Elm is located near the "General House", which now serves as an administrative building. The tree is in relatively good condition and is approximately 39" DBH. We had another similar size tree on the campus that died suddenly 2-3 years ago. This is the only American Elm that I know of in our school system. Our system consist of 150 sites and approximately 1400 acres.

Sorry the winter pictures are not that good but I hope you find the information interesting.
Sincerely,
Frank Dengg
Landscape and Grounds Supervisor
Columbus City Schools

Frank, Thanks for the story and the pictures. I hope we can work together and get some more Princeton Elms into the mix there at the City Schools. Thanks Again!

Temporarily Lost But Not Forgotten

Hi Jared...here's my first and only elm tale.

Searching for unusual trees is my hobby. Very early spring 2007 I came across a pallet(about 20 fifteen gall.) of Princeton American Elms sitting outside a local Home Depot. Unable to resist I excitedly purchased three(two for me and the other for a fellow plant geek friend). I still remember planting them in pouring rain and mud but I couldn't resist getting them in the ground a.s.a.p. As a garden designer I'm always in need of and searching for more plants. This brought me back to Home Depot later that summer. Much to my dismay I noticed those same elms had been moved to a corner of the parking lot and left to bake in the 90 degree sunshine on blacktop. These poor trees were surrounded by other plant material all of which had obviously been neglected. It seemed that nothing had been watered for days. A hand-made sign indicated that all plants in this area were 75% off. Most of the smaller shrubs and perennials were dead but to my surprise the elms were very much alive. There were seven left and I "rescued" them all certain I could find them good homes. I'm happy to report they're doing quite well today.My above mentioned friend and I each added one to our landscape and others have found spots in some of my clients yards. Not only are they thriving and growing quite fast but I must mention that these trees require little to no maintenance. I'm not sure what the moral of this story is but I can wholeheartedly recommend the Princeton American Elm to both plant geeks and regular folk alike!........Bernard Gross/Garden Partners

Thanks Bernard, I was very interested when you told me this story and also very excited that those Princeton American Elms where able to be saved. You do have a kind heart my friend!

Check out the next story or information on the elm comming soon!!!

Mail Order Princeton American Elms Now Available

With the growing demand Nationally for the Princeton American Elm, we here at Sharp Top Trees have now released two new sizes available for you, the homeowner. These are 7'+ Bare Root liners (See picture) and also the 3'-4' quarters (See picture) All are now available online!! You can order directly from our web site at: http://www.sharptoptree.com/princeton_am_elm.htm

Field of Bare Root Princeton American Elm's Ready to Ship Now until Spring Leaf out!!!

Here is Scott with a handful of freshly dug Princeton Elms Bare Root. These will need to be staked for the first year of life. Of course with your order, you would get planting, fertilization instructions and much more to help get your Elm off and growing to a great start!


The "Quarts" will be available year-round as they will still have soil. The bare root liners are only available this Winter and early Spring.

Also, you will notice the cleaned root system of the trees (See below). These trees are stored in the sawdust holding area while on irrigation to keep the roots moist until you open them up and plant them in your landscape.



If you need more information or ordering information, please feel free to contact me at (877) 387-1945 or at jared@sharptoptree.com

I look forward to sending you your New Princeton American elms!


Below is a picture of the 3' to 4' "Quarts" that can be mailed out year-round - even in full leaf! Shipping is usually 2 to 3 days in the USA!!