What be this tree??

[kodiak]

I planted this about 4 years ago as part of a bundle of bare root saplings I got from the county. Now I'm having some difficulty identifying it (I don't want to bias anyone with saying what the other trees in the bundle turned out to be).

It's amazing how quickly this thing has grown but that may be partially due to the small Artisian well just uphill from it.

Anyway, who wants to be first??

 

[CTYank]

Elm. Just don't ask me which, takes some a while to show characteristic branching.

 

[Brush Ape]

White Elm.

 

[stumpy75]

Elm. Just don't ask me which, takes some a while to show characteristic branching.

+1

 

[Marine5068]

Elm...probably a White Elm....when flower/seeds appear you'll be able to confirm

 

[haveawoody]

Small elms are difficult to tell apart but the leaf pattern and young bark pattern look much like Rock elm.
I have a few about that size in my backyard but I fear they will never grow up to maturity with all the parent trees departed.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Based on the leaves, I agree with Rock Elm.

 

[kodiak]

Elm, that's curious. The bundle of saplings I had included cherry and walnut. I'm wondering if the original sapling didn't make it and this was a volunteer?

This thing is probably 14' already (the tube around the trunk is 4'). It that normal for an Elm?

Thx!!

 

[Whitespider]

I don't believe elm, the leaf base is too darn equal. Looking at the image of the whole tree it has the upright small branches and twigs characteristic of Slippery (Red) Elm... but like I said, the leaves are wrong. I don't see the corky wings on the branches, typical of Rock Elm (sometimes called Cork Elm)... and again, the leaf bases are wrong. My first impression, lookin' at the leaves, was Ironwood (American Hophornbeam - ostrya virginiana)... but, lookin' a little closer, the leaf tooth seems a bit course for that.

That bark is a puzzle, it doesn't really fit with anything I can come up with. Young trees can be difficult to ID from pictures alone... and things like bark, leaves and branching patters can be deceiving, especially on young trees. I'm not sure what that tree is... but I'm fairly confident it ain't an elm (fairly confident, not positive... there are hybrids and cultivators that add to the fool ya' factor). Both elm and hophornbeam flower/fruit in the spring... it may be a while before the final comes in.
*

 

[Whitespider]

Ya' know what?? I'm wondering about European Hornbeam, often called Common Hornbeam (carpinus betulus).
It's not native to the United States, but it has been widely planted throughout... some cultivators are purely ornamental, others for hedges, yet others for windbreaks and shelter belts.

 

[haveawoody]

Whitespider,

You might be right on that one.
If we could see a close up of the bud terminator on the leafs it could ID it quick.
Rock hard to see any bud at all, hornbeam every leaf has an easy to see one.
Original leaf picture is just not clear enough to see it or not.
Hairy texture under the leaf ID's rock pretty easy.

I took one quick look at leaves and bark and all I could think was Rock elm, young rock elm bark is pretty odd looking from tree to tree so not unexpected for it to look odd.
5 or 6 years of age they all have bark that looks pretty much the same but up to that point it's like trying to ID apples and oranges of the same tree LOL

 

[Whitespider]

 

[Whitespider]

 

[svk]

Not a specialist on Elm, but just thinking out loud. With DED wiping out elms across the country, I would think it would be fairly rare to get an elm from a nursery but I could be wrong.

 

[Whitespider]

Well I am a (self proclaimed) elm specialist
OK, enough of that.

In all seriousness... I see nothing elm-like in the OP's pictures. First of all the bark looks nothing like any elm I've ever seen... not even close. The leaves are too small for American, Slippery or Rock Elm... and too larger for Siberian Elm. The leaf bases are symmetrical, or nearly so... I'm not aware of any elm with such. Also, rarely does elm have leaves so consistent in size... even on the same branch. And the shape of the tree is just wrong... flat wrong. When I looked at those pictures the word "elm" never even entered my mind... like I said, the first thought was Ironwood (Hophornbeam), but that didn't (or doesn't) "feel" right.

I'm just a part-time woods-bum, nowhere near a trained horticulturist, I could be wrong... but it would really surprise me if I was.
*

 

[kodiak]

Although this tree is in a tree tube, it is entirely possible it's not the same tree that was planted. There were a few trees that didn't make it and in some of those cases something else started sprouting and I just let them grow.

 

[Whitespider]

OK... OK... I'm gonna' go back on what I said 'bout the leaves not being from an elm... just a little.
Exotic lookin' bark... near symmetrical, small, single toothed(?) leaves... maybe... just maybe... Chinese Elm?? Or some variant of??
Unlike most all others, the Chinese Elm flowers/fruits in fall... but I'm not so sure that one is old enough??
Really though, the leaves (from the pictures) look a tad big for Chinese Elm... but, pictures can lie.
(shrug)
*

 

[kodiak]

You guys want more pictures of anything specific???

 

[Whitespider]

Yeah, a close-up pic of the bark and a close-up of one of the typical leaves (are they single tooth or double tooth?)... and maybe of one of the buds if there are any.
This one has me confused, and second-guessin' myself... being this tree is from my general area of the country, and from an area (Minnesota) I've lived in and spent much time in, I just feel like I should know what it is (unless it is something exotic, then all bets are off).
The bark is the real kicker, I just ain't never seen anything like it... at least I ain't never seen what that picture shows.
*

 

[svk]

I still think you hit it with euro hornbeam.