Cedar Elm

Ulmus crassifolia

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locally

Cedar Elm is a large tree native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 50–75 ft tall and 25–35 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and very low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms green in late summer. Good for butterflies.

Will it grow in your yard?

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From our guide

Village of the Hills

Small-leafed native elm with a vase shape, corky twigs, and dependable butter-yellow fall color.

Why it works here

Perhaps the most site-tolerant shade tree we have — clay, caliche, drought, poor drainage, all fine. The default street tree for good reason.

Watch out

Mistletoe is common in older trees. Late-summer pollen bothers some people. Prune only in dry weather to avoid disease.

The facts

10 sources

Type: Large tree
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Very low
Height: 50–75 ft
Spread: 25–35 ft
Bloom: Late Summer · green
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, loam, moist, rocky, sand
Deer: Moderate — deer may browse it, especially new growth. Browsed as a sapling, safe once above the browse line.
Wildlife: Supports butterflies

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesLimestone Cut PlainSan Antonio Prairie

4,811 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

2.5–9.5 inch pots1, 3, 5, 7, 15, 30, 45, 65, 95, 200 gallonballed & burlapped

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.