Wing Bark Virus

[zigs]

Seen this many times on Elm trees, always assumed it was a symptom of Dutch Elm disease, but it turns out to be a virus.

 

[Ian]

Do you know if this virus does the Elm harm over time, or is it something they can still grow well with? I don't know much about this, but I've seen it once or twice and wondered what it was.

 

[zigs]

They still keep growing to about 10 feet or more

They seem to die after that though...

 

[Ian]

Elms don't seem to be having a good time this past 50 years!

 

[Mike Allen]

Times past in the field of medicine. The expression, cut it off or cut it out, was often heard. Hell's bells, talk about being OTT. However pausing to give thought. Was it such a drastic comment?

So! I'm an oldie at this gardening game. Although no longer working for my living, having enjoyed playing an active part in gardening and teaching others and finally specializing as a plant pathologist.

Please trust me. There's not a day goes by when in the scientific field, news about some new virus, bacterium etc hits the headlines. Not just our native garden plants and trees but also flora from across the world. You name it and, YES it is under attack. This has now reached such high proportions that plant pathologist and scientists are now concentrating upon ways and means of increasing crop producton. This may seem strange but. It's true.

Now back to the garden. Here in the UK. There is not a single tree that is not under attack. So here in the garden. Naturally you want everything to look good, why not? Eventually even the tiniest bug will contribute to the death of your plant or tree. So it simply comes down to, what you see you may not like...so does it remain, or do ouy cut it off? In reallity, if you act swiftly at the first signs you can actually add years to the life of your plant. If on the other hand you can love with it, then enjoy it while you can. In time a damaged doseased part of the plant will act like a cancer.

 

[Silentrunning]

This could very well be a variant of winged elm or cork (corkbark) Elm. These trees can exhibit large physical differences in a local area so I’m sure they could really vary from continent to continent.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I was reading some posts where a gardener had learned to use Betadine on soil that showed signs of damping off. Perhaps our understanding of how to defend our plants necessarily has to come from being attacked by an ever adapting environment first.

 

[ANN ROBERTS]

Hi, i am from Southern Australia and have never seen this before. I have two fairly young elm trees and both are affected by this weird bark. Is there anything i can use to treat it as i would like to keep the trees but they dont look healthy and i dont know if it is a virus or bug causing this. any advice would be appreciated. thanks, Ann

 

[Silentrunning]

This is Ulmus alata. It is actually one of the Elms that is most resistant to Dutch Elm disease. It is a relatively small tree in our region rarely attaining 40 feet. It is very good for bonsai because it can be transplanted almost any time of the year and can survive severe cut backs. It is cold hearty to zone 6.

 

[Marck]

Seen this many times on Elm trees, always assumed it was a symptom of Dutch Elm disease, but it turns out to be a virus.

The above statement is incorrect. 'Winged' bark, as pictured in the OP is normal bark anatomy for some Elm (Ulmus) species.
Certain species such as Winged Elm (Ulmus alatus) are known to consistently produce particularly thick bark 'wings' on young branches, but winged bark also appears on some narrow branches of other Ulmus species as well, such as Ulmus minor (including Ulmus procera) and Ulmus x hollandica.