Ulmus 'Stavast'

Ulmus 'Stavast'
GenusUlmus
Hybrid parentage'Commelin' × '202' (U. 'Exoniensis' × U. wallichiana)
Cultivar'Stavast'
OriginNetherlands

Ulmus 'Stavast' is a Dutch hybrid elm cultivar raised at the Dorschkamp Research Institute for Forestry & Landscape Planning, Wageningen, as clone '622' from the crossing of 'Commelin' with clone '202',[1][2] itself a hybrid of the Exeter Elm Ulmus 'Exoniensis' and Himalayan Elm Ulmus wallichiana.

Description

The tree is distinguished by its dense root system.[3][4]

Pests and diseases

'Stavast' has only a moderate resistance to Dutch elm disease, rated 3 out of 5.[5]

Cultivation

'Stavast' has not been in commerce in its own right much. It was retained as a rootstock for the grafting of related elms like 'Dodoens', 'Plantyn', and 'Clusius' (cultivars now propagated by rooted cuttings[6][3]), as its dense root-system quickly stabilized young trees.[7] Specimens of the cultivar have been planted in the Netherlands, in the elm trial plantation at Lepelaarweg, Zeewolde,[8][4] in the Het Egeltjesbos public park in the village of De Kwakel, Uithoorn (one tree),[citation needed] and among the lines of elms on the ‘s-Gravelandsevaartweg, Loosdrecht (10 trees, planted 2018), part of Wijdemeren City Council's elm collection, assembled since 2003 by tree manager Martin Tijdgat and his colleagues.[9][10][11]

A number of 'Stavast' were exported to New Zealand for use in trials at the Hortresearch station at Palmerston North in the 1990s.[citation needed]

Etymology

The name 'Stavast' is Dutch for "stand firmly", but is also used to describe someone of resolute character.

References