I am about 30 miles from Washington, DC but rarely go to the city. Today, I was there, and noticed that all around the Mall area, there are a large number of Ulmus americana saplings (at least they look like American elm) along a lot of the streets.

They're either Valley Forge, Princeton, or possibly Jefferson, based on what I've read.

However, what I noticed was the PHENOMENAL growth rate these trees have! Looking at them today, I noticed that THIS seasons' growth on these trees was in the neighborhood of 4 - 7 feet! Is that typical??