national elm collection

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National Elm Collection

Group of Ulmus 'Sapporo Autumn Gold' in Blakers Park

Brighton & Hove has traditionally enjoyed a high population of Elm trees. These were originally planted in large numbers by the Victorians and Edwardians due to the suitability of the species to local maritime conditions, their resistance to salt-laden winds, and tolerance of the thin chalk soil typical of much of this area.

In the 1950s Mr Ray Evison, the then Director of Parks & Gardens and an internationally renowned plantsman, collaborated with many of his counterparts throughout Europe to introduce a diverse selection of Elms planted in parks and open spaces throughout the area.  This initiative provided a major green amenity which, together with the successful containment of the non-virulent form of elm disease during the 1960s, helped shape the local treescape.

In the early 1970s, the then Director of Parks, Mike Griffin, supported the introduction of a new programme for the control of a virulent form of elm disease introduced by the channel ports on Rock Elm from North America.  Hove Borough Council swiftly adopted and implemented the same programme.  The success of the two former boroughs working closely in tandem to fight the disease is apparent today in the form of many thousands of Elms retained throughout the city.

In 1998 the overall success of the local control programme was endorsed by the granting of full national collection status by Plant Heritage.

Elm saplings at Stanmer Nursery Ulmus 'Dodoens' in Queen's Park Terrace Ulmus 'New Horizon' in Queen's Park Terrace

The Arboricultural Service continues to actively contain elm disease in the city safeguarding the mature Elm treescape at the same time as seeking to extend the range of cultivars and varieties as they become available.  To this end, seeds have been obtained of a number of cultivars from Moreton Arboretum in America. These were successfully propagated at the nursery facilities at Stanmer Park, and are now maintained by the council's CityParks.

The Arboricultural Service continues to exchange information and plant material with other experts in the field extending both knowledge and increasing cultivars and varieties to supplement the collection.

The Arboricultural Service remains committed to containing elm disease and extending the range of plant material in the National Collection.


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