Dakota Gardener: Woes of the American elm – It’s complicated…

  • An American elm in Bowman, North Dakota, shows symptoms of Dutch elm disease. (NDSU photo)
    An American elm in Bowman, North Dakota, shows symptoms of Dutch elm disease. (NDSU photo)

    By Joe Zeleznik, NDSU Extension forester It’s tough on trees in North Dakota.

    Bitter winter cold. Scorching summer heat. Floods. Droughts. Wind.

    And that’s just an average year!

    Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a bit. But there’s some truth in there. We do experience many of these environmental extremes regularly. Our native trees are mostly adapted to them.

    But situations change. In addition to the ever-…