YORKTON - It is not very often in my gardening reading that I have seen the warning “NOT RECOMMENDED” for a tree or shrub, but I did last week. Gardeners always take note of beautiful tress or shrubs when we go on walks or drives, don’t we. But I think we also notice shrubs that make us shudder. I saw such a specimen, boldly growing in what used to be a stunning flowerbed years ago, and I wanted to tell you about it.
The Siberian elm is an aggressive, invasive shrub that gives new meaning to both words. The plant might also be known by the name Chinese elm, but it is trouble whatever it is called. It starts off innocently enough as a robust shrub, but if left to its own devices can grow up to 30 feet high or more. The stems have small, saw-toothed compound leaves (each stems has many leaves) , and the plant “wind-pollinates”, meaning that the seeds blow everywhere, and almost every one of them comes up.
I read that it is “the hardiest of all elms” but not in a good way. You might have this plant on your property or in your garden. I have seen it growing here and there around town, and unknowing gardeners might look at it and think that this healthy volunteer is just great: It fills in empty spaces with no effort, grows quickly, is tough, and gets bigger and fuller every year. If you are not familiar with it, look it up online and if you have it, make every effort to eradicate your property of this pest. You will not read anything good about it. I have read that the shrub has “displacement capacity”, which is a polite term meaning it is so aggressive that it will quickly choke out plants that you do want in your yard.
If the garden could be compared to a comic book, the Siberian elm would be the black-caped villain that visits the garden. The only way to deal with this shrub is to destroy it; it really shouldn’t even be allowed to grow in a city, because the millions of seeds spread so easily and come up just as easily. If these seeds blow into your garden, you will be weeding and weeding and weeding. Forever and forever. It will seem like it, anyway.
A gardening friend once said, in jest, that this shrub/tree should be cut down, cut into pieces, burned, the ashes gathered up and put in a metal box, the box should be locked, buried in a deep hole in the ground, and capped with concrete. And even then, a gardener would still have to be vigilant! An extreme and comical description, but it describes the severe invasive problem of this plant. There are also maple varieties that could join this club, too.
We have seen first-hand the damage that this shrub can do, and how it requires hard work to eradicate. So if you see Siberian elm coming up in your garden, you must act swiftly and surely before the seeds come. Pull it out or cut it down, and take it to the landfill. And if you have those seeds coming up in your yard, they have to be diligently pulled out. Yes, it is tedious and exhausting to pull them out, but pull them out you must!
Strange, isn’t it, how we have to baby along other shrubs ,sometimes, to get them established, but this one grows so profusely! Keep an eye out for it, and when you see it, take action!
Now, on to plants that you DO want! The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be holding their Fall Plant and Bulb Sale on Friday, September 20 from 9:30 AM to 2:00 PM at the Parkland mall in Yorkton. More details to follow!
Visit the hort society at www.yorktonhort.ca Thank you to our friends at YTW for their fine work. Enjoy your garden and have a nice week!
