Wych Elm Sapling Trees

• Common name: Wych Elm
• Latin name: Ulmus glabra
• Native: Yes
• Sold as: Bareroot saplings, 40/60 and 60/80cm tall
• Use: Native hedging, woodland and shelter
• Spacing in a hedge: 3 plants per metre
• Size as a tree: More than 12m tall and more than 8m wide
• Time to full size: 20 to 50 years
• Leaves: Broad, toothed and dark green, rough above, yellow in autumn
• Position: Sun or partial shade, exposed or sheltered
• Soil: Any well-drained soil: chalk, loam or sand
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Wych Elm is the native Elm: a large tree with a dome of spreading branches and broad, toothed leaves that turn yellow in autumn. These are young bareroot saplings for a native hedge, where clipping keeps the plants below the size that Elm bark beetles look for, or for woodland planting.

Wych Elm Sapling Trees

Wych Elm, Ulmus glabra, is a hardy native Elm that can be used as a hedge plant on any fertile, well-drained soil; it isn't suitable for waterlogged sites. When it's clipped as a hedge, it'll not attract Elm Bark Beetles.
Wych Elm will reach 30 metres if it grows freely as a tree.
Browse our selection of native hedging or our full range of hedging.

Bareroot plants are only delivered during winter (Nov-April).
All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

Spacing a Wych Elm hedge:
Plant at 3 plants per metre, 33cm apart.

A very hardy, large native tree. Grown as a tree, it tends to have a short trunk that breaks up into large branches a couple of metres above the ground. These will be fairly upright with spreading side branches, so mature trees are often as wide as they're tall. Wych Elm can also be clipped as a hedge, which looks great in summer with its lush, big serrated leaves.

History & Trivia

Ulmus glabra is native from Scotland to Russia and is found in the Alps, especially around Switzerland.The Gaelic name for it's Leam and the Romans called Loch Lomond "Leamanonius Lacus", Lake of the Elms. The word Wych, like wicker, is derived from the Old English wice, to bend. It's not though to be related to the word witch, which derives from wicce: if it were, then the Wiccan religion should surely feature woven baskets much more prominently.

The timber is highly resistant to rotting and was once prized for water pipes and gutters. The leaves are good fodder for animals, and can be added to salads when they first open in spring.

It's susceptible to Dutch Elm disease, but the beetles that spread the fungus are less attracted to it than the English Elm, Ulmus procera, which was almost wiped out after the disease spread here in the 1960's; almost all the remaining English Elms are in Preston Park in Brighton, while mature Wych Elm trees can be found dotted around the UK, often in exposed or coastal locations where the wind is too strong for a flying beetle.

Elms are important for the preservation of the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly.

Planting Companions

In a native hedge, plant Wych Elm with Hornbeam, Hazel and Field Maple. For an Elm to grow on as a specimen tree, look at the disease-resistant hybrids Wingham and Sapporo Autumn Gold, and read our article on Dutch Elm disease. Dust the roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge for Native Trees?

Hedging and young native trees are not a sideline here: your Wych Elm saplings are grown for us by specialist growers. Bareroot plants are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months. Ashridge has sold plants since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Wych Elm get Dutch Elm disease?

It is susceptible. The disease is a fungus carried by Elm bark beetles, which need bark of a certain size, and that is why small trees and clipped hedge Elms escape it.

Can you grow Wych Elm as a hedge?

Yes. Plant three per metre, 33cm apart, and clip it as you would any native hedge. It has big, lush leaves in summer.

How big does it grow as a tree?

The RHS gives it more than 12 metres tall and more than 8 metres wide, in 20 to 50 years. Our own page has long said about 30 metres for a free-growing tree.

What soil and site suit it?

Any well-drained soil, chalk included, in sun or partial shade. It stands exposure, and it does not like waterlogged ground.

Is Wych Elm native to Britain?

Yes. The RHS lists it as a native plant, and it is the food plant of the White-letter Hairstreak butterfly.

When are the plants delivered?

Bareroot only, from November to April, while the plants are dormant. You can order at any time of year and your plants are lifted and sent once the season opens.