Dutch Elm Disease can infect all types of elms in Saskatchewan. American elms are the most common shade tree found in the older neighbourhoods of Saskatoon. In fact, there are as many as 100,000 in the city.
American elms are native to Saskatchewan and therefore ideally suited to our cold, harsh climate.
They can live for 250 years or more in our urban setting, providing beauty and shade for generations to come. The canopy of mature trees will often meet across a street creating an attractive tunnel of branches and leaves. The leaf edges are double-toothed. A hardy, weedy, and relatively short lived species, the Siberian elm can have a variety of forms depending on location and pruning from a shrubby hedge to a single tree. Their leaves are similar to, but smaller than, those of the American elm.