How Do I Identify Elm Trees in Spring?

Elm trees are long-living trees with some reaching the age of 300 years old, according to the Elm Care website. They are valued for their shade in the warm months and their colorful leaves in the autumn months. Identifying any type of tree in spring can be difficult since the foliage and other identifying factors may not be completely developed. Here are a few characteristics that will help to identify an elm tree in the spring.

Examine the overall shape of the tree branches, even if there is no foliage present. There should only be four to five main vertical branches growing from the trunk, although there can be many more shorter horizontal branches. In addition, the overall shape of the branches should resemble an umbrella.

Move close to the tree trunk and look at the color of the bark. It should be dark gray with streaks of brown. Some older elm trees can have a white silver gray coloring instead of being dark. You should also see many raised, vertical ridges in the bark.

Pick off one set of leaves from the tree, even if they are still small. If it is an elm tree, there will be three oval-shaped leaves attached to a single stem. The edges of each leaf have a serrated appearance and you can clearly see the veins along the flat surface of the leaf. The leaves can be between 4 and 6 inches long.

Examine the ground underneath the tree for large chunks of bark that have fallen off. This is a sign of an elm tree that has started to die usually from disease or cold damage the previous winter.