The cedar elm grows 30 to 60 feet, providing an outstanding, pleasant shade tree. Photo by Don Glentzer.

Cedar Elm

Ulmus crassifolia

A clean, neat shade tree, the cedar elm is a good fit for sidewalks and streets. An excellent shade tree, it’s relatively fast growing as a young specimen.

Although drought tolerant, it can stand a fair amount of soil moisture as well. This Texas native is easy to grow and well adapted to most conditions from dry to somewhat heavy clay soils, partial shade or full sun.

It’s also commonly known as shrub elm, lime elm, Texas elm, basket elm, red elm, and southern rock elm.

Scruffy in character, its leaves feel like sandpaper, its bark has scaly ridges. Its deciduous leaves turn yellow to gold in the fall. Photo by Don Glentzer.