Photo: Jay Sturner, CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Winged Elm

Ulmus alata

Also called wahoo, wahoo elm.

A tough, fast-growing southern elm with corky wings along its twigs, for dry rocky ridges, heavy clay and bottomland alike.

Wildlife valueDrought tolerantWinter interestStreet tree

Type: Medium tree
Mature height: 40–60 ft
USDA zones: 6–9
Growth rate: Fast
Sun: Full, Part
Soil moisture: Dry, Average
Grows wild in: Dry uplands, floodplain forests, rocky ground, stream banks, old fields and edges
Native range: 18 states, north to Illinois, south to Florida and west to Texas
List all 18
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia
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Winged elm is a small to medium elm of the Southeast and the southern Midwest. It is named for the pairs of corky wings, standing out as much as half an inch, that run along its twigs. Its leaves are small, about 2 inches long. It grows wild on dry, rocky ridges and glade edges, in bottomland woods and along fencerows. The name wahoo comes from the Creek language, and the fibrous inner bark was once twisted into rope to tie cotton bales. On poor ground it can spread into pastures and sprout back after grazing. Plant it as a street or shade tree on hot, hard ground, mixed with other kinds of trees.

Size, growth and what to expect

Winged elm grows fast, about 2.75 feet a year in our growth estimator. Other figures put it nearer 30 feet at 20 years. Expect 40 to 60 feet with a crown 20 to 40 feet wide. In the woods it can reach 90 feet.

The small reddish flowers open from February into April, before the leaves. The hairy samaras, about a third of an inch long, ripen and fall in April and May. Songbirds and small mammals eat the seeds, and the leaves feed question mark, eastern comma and mourning cloak caterpillars.

It grows wild from southern Virginia west to southern Indiana, Illinois and central Missouri, and south to central Florida, central Oklahoma and southeast Texas. It is also found locally in Maryland. It grows up to about 2,500 feet, on middle and upper slopes in the hills of Tennessee and North Carolina.

How to grow Winged Elm

Winged elm wants full sun and takes light shade. It grows in sand, loam, heavy clay or rocky ground and is not particular about pH. It takes drought once established, and it tolerates brief flooding after heavy rain. Plant it 20 feet from a wall and more than 50 feet from overhead wires, and set trees 30 feet apart.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the root flare at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the trunk. Sweep up the samaras as they fall in April or May. The seed needs no chilling. Sow it at once, no deeper than a quarter inch, and keep the bed moist until the seedlings are up.

Water weekly through the first summer. Deer browse the spring twigs and leaves, so guard young trees for the first few years. Young trees tend to fork, so prune three or four times in the early years to one central trunk with wide-angled limbs.

Each winged elm flower carries both male and female parts, but elms seldom set seed with their own pollen. The wind carries pollen between trees, so plant two or more if you want seed. Dutch elm disease and elm phloem necrosis, both spread by insects, can kill it. Dutch elm disease is most widespread in the north of its range. For that reason, do not plant it in large numbers. Its disease risk may make it a doubtful choice today. Powdery mildew, scale and mites can also show up.

Heights and zones are typical ranges for the species in cultivation; local conditions and seed source shift them.

Sources (12)