Long research history produces superior tree varieties

An American Elm resistant to Dutch Elm Disease is showing up in garden centers and nurseries in North Dakota and Minnesota, which is exciting, especially for North Dakotans who love their state tree. Prairie Expedition^Ⓡ American Elm - Ulmus americana ‘Lewis & Clark’  was released from the NDSU Woody Plant ImprovementProgram in 2004. The program was then led by Dr. Dale Herman, who retired in 2010. 

Dutch Elm Disease first appeared in North Dakotain the 1970s and is now in every county in  the state. It spreads via several varieties of bark beetles, root grafts and can spread from tree to tree through roots. The only true prevention technique is to plant resistant varieties, of which there are few.

Dr. Todd West now leads the Woody Plant Improvement program in the Department of Plant Sciences. He often reflects on the huge germplasm collection curated and maintained by Herman. Herman collected 700 specimens between 1974 and 1976 after the NDSU Horticulture Research Farm at Absaraka, ND was first established. 

The farm is 80 acres, 35 of which is now named the Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum. The remaining 45 acres is used for woody plant and horticultural research. There are currently more than 9500 accessions including trees, shrubs and ground cover, which is the most extensive collection of woody ornamental plants in the northern Great Plains.   

One of Herman’s tree acquisitions led to the development of Prairie Expedition^Ⓡ. “I spent many hours and drove many miles all over North Dakota looking for trees and shrubs that showed exceptional characteristics like vigorous growth, exceptional size or growth habit, and disease resistance,” he recalls. He also advertised, appealing to landowners to be on the lookout for elm trees that survived in the midst of other dying trees. 

Responding to this advertisement, a landowner and farmer south of Fargo on the Sheyenne River named Jim Hanson contacted Herman about a large elm tree on his property that was healthy and growing amidst a grove of dead trees. Herman looked at the surviving tree and  collected samples to  cultivate as saplings in greenhouse studies. The result was the release of Prairie Expedition™ ‘Lewis and Clark’. The nursery industry began propagating trees to be sold by local nurseries and now are available to customers.

Hanson's son Joel, who also works in the NDSU College of Engineering, planted a Prairie Expedition^Ⓡ elm in his front yard in Fargo and says it is doing well. He also has pictures of the original tree on his home farm, which ironically was killed by beavers a few years back. A local news story covering the planting of the tree in Hanson’s yard was recorded in 2009.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL6xng902VI 

An educational event called “Branch Out: The NDSU Arboretum Experience” at the Dale E. Herman Research Arboretum will be held on Saturday September 10, 2022 from 12:30 to 5:00 p.m.