Lane, the hackberry can be a majestic tree, with an appearance not unlike a very tall, very straight American elm, or...it can be a scrubby, shrubby thing with no discernible leader. In short, a highly variable species. There is a park in La Crosse Wisconsin along the Mississippi river with what are still to this day far and away the best-looking and most well-grown hackberries I've ever seen. These are examples of hackberries that look for all the world like very tall American elms. But I've seen plenty of others with no such grace or beauty.

Your being in Wyoming, I picture the need for toughness and this species can fit that bill. They are tolerant to higher pH soils, which could also work in your favor-just speculating here. We planted a bunch in a park here in town maybe twenty years ago and they're coming along very nicely.

One aspect of growing hackberry is that it can require "sweating" to get it to green out in the spring. Here, I'm talking about bare-root trees not yet planted in the ground. We'd cover them with a tarp and place wet hay in and around the trees. PITA for sure but it worked. I should think if you're just dealing with one or two trees-and if those trees are potted-then maybe you would not have to deal with this step. And as far as I have been able to research, the problem there is one of inadequate starch (energy) reserves in the root systems of those trees when harvested at the nursery we got them form, wherever that was. not typically something you, the end-user can control.

I'd say give them a shot. Very neat bark, potentially a good form, and adaptability to tough conditions make this a winner.

+oM

What you are looking at out here is a tree that is scraggly in youth, then is ~twiggy and sheds small twigs and seeds. This tree over a sidewalk is sometimes problematic and messy. But it is one of the few trees out here that can look decent. No fall color to speak of, not majestic like others, but is there as a tree occupying volume. I plant them here because they are tough, not because x, y, z.

there are always complaints about improperly sited trees ... a tree can be a real piece of carp .. in a small suburban yard ... yet be a glorious tree ... in a park.. golf course.. tundra...

you really havent described your application ... other than saying for your yard ...

second .... why do you need tough ... they are trees.. not children.. most can handle anything .. if zone appropriate .... and properly planted ....

i highly suggest you call your COUNTY extension office ... a get a list of trees that THEY suggest for WY .... perhaps even google your state forestry department ...

it is much easier to have a conversation about specific plants.. and their worthiness ... rather than getting a lot of opinion of peeps who have never been in WY ...

finally .. no tree ever stops growing.. period ... you will never get a valuable answer as to how tall it will end up .... search annual growth rate.. and that will tell you how fast.. it will get to any given size ... and of course.. that brings us back to how big your yard is ...

you can also use google to find the latin name ... and then flip to images.. and you will get a real flavor of potential ...

https://www.google.com/search?q=Celtis+occidentalis&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIopjC-7yayQIVyF4eCh2JxwK_&biw=889&bih=745&dpr=0.9

and i note the first 2 or 3 links were arbor day ... they are not known for sending the best stock ... if you want to insure success... it might be worth paying more.. for a good plant ....

ken

I would like to plant it in the back yard in the SW corner where there would be enough room. I need a tough tree because it's really windy, cold, the soil is crappy, alkaline, rocky with almost no organic matter and spring comes late.

I want to know their max height because I've seen 25 ft. all the way up to 80 ft. as a mature height. That's quite the range.

I mostly want to know if it's truly a trashy tree like a Siberian elm, or if it's a more "worthy" tree. I'd just like to hear people's opinions of them.

Not like Siberian elm. Hard to say how tall it will get in your site, I've seen a couple ~60 feet in irrigated turf in parks down here, maybe 35-45 feet in irrigated treelawns. You'll want to look around town for some to see how tall they get there, in that place. And the Extension office, again, is a good resource and will help you in that difficult place.

Well I've never seen one around town. Not sure why they're not used, but they are on a couple 'recommended' lists for my area.

I want to know their max height because I've seen 25 ft. all the way up to 80 ft. as a mature height. That's quite the range.

==>>> and that is why i said ... trees never stop growing.. there is NO max height ...

ken

OK, well a crab apple doesn't quit growing ever, but it never reaches 50 ft tall. It'll grow to about 15-20 ft. then grow millimeters a year til its death. I don't see how my question is uninformed, ridiculous or hard to understand.

Thanks +oM for letting me know that the eventual mature height is probably dependent on the site.

Lane, local nurseries might not carry them because they don't work, or no demand for them. Therein lies your other issue: local stock. If you want something 1" caliper or more, you are stuck with what the locals offer, as I doubt you are going to drive back from Ft Collins with a happy tree, no matter how well wrapped. Although you may be able to get special order stock from a local nursery, for a price.

I like them. There are some very large ones in the Madison area - over 80 feet. I like the bark and the overall shape. They are tough but as mentioned can be difficult to transplant. I do have baby hackberry trees popping up around the yard.

The two bird planted natives we had in our front yard were 30-35 ft tall at about 20 years when we bought the house and were roughly the same size when we took them down after another 12. Birds loved them... but then so did the mistletoe they delivered. Could deal with it on one tree, but couldn't cut it out fast enough to keep it out of the main limbs on the other.

We do have others in the area that are considerably taller, so height/vitality does seem to vary a lot by specific location. Would plant another for wildlife benefit if we had the space, but for me, not such a good tree for small urban lots for several reasons, including:

• Seedlings are numerous, very hard to pull, and grow back from roots if broken/cut

• Hackberry aphids seasonally drip "honeydew" on whatever is below - especially bad over vehicles or furniture

• Leaves are often plagued by (Psyllids) galls which I find interesting, but generally considered "ugly" in a prominent lawn tree... and seem to render many of the fall leaves more brown than yellow.

I have a couple of Sugarberry trees (Southern version of Hackberry). They do have an odd form to them when they're young, no real central leader. The only problem I have with mine is aphids which cover the tree with black sooty mildew.

I suspect a Hackberry growing in WY would likely be stunted compared to one growing in the east, due to the lower humidity and soil quality, but that's just a guess.

I think you would have luck with them, particularly if your soil has a clay content to it between the rock that will hold some moisture. Here in Iowa they can grow on pure sand or directly over limestone. Like others have mentioned hackberries are not exactly the prettiest trees but they are tough.

We work at one residence that has a hackberry at the very back of their property- it is growing on pure sand at the edge of a fence line which has a 10' drop off directly behind it. Even though the ground is covered by thick grass the tree has done very well and is around 30' tall and 20' wide. I think it will be somewhat difficult to get your tree growing but after it is established you should be fine.

There is also a cultivar of boxelder called Sensation that might work well for your area and the conditions you're describing. Supposedly it has good fall color but here in Iowa it is usually non-existent. Would rarely recommend the species but for your climate it might be an acceptable option. Are there any native oaks that would work?

There are some nice cultivars that are more predictable in size and performance.

http://www.jfschmidt.com/pdfs/magnificahackberry.pdf

http://www.jfschmidt.com/pdfs/prairiesentinelhackberry.pdf

Ken-toughness is more an issue in Wyoming. Much harsher, MUCH drier (about 10-15" of rain per year at best), more extreme weather. Not like us Eastern and Midwestern peeps who sometimes forget how spoiled we are with decent soil pH and usually adequate rain.

Back in my touring days with the band, we made a run from Cheyenne to Casper, and then later, down to Fort Collins, CO. For my money, that area around Cheyenne and Casper is the most desolate country I've ever seen. Brown-about the color of a new Carhart jacket, not one blade of grass, not one leaf in sight anywhere...the effect, while not at all what I usually am interested in, was captivating in a different way. Just never saw country quite like that. I'd strongly reinforce what Hairmetal just said above....this is tough country!

+oM

Although not truly "desert" - I think those of us in humid climates don't realize just how DRY most of the West is, even the areas that aren't traditionally thought of as the "Desert Southwest".

To put it another way, I was talking with a friend who is considering a move to the Denver area. Colorado is beautiful, no doubt, but I pointed out to this person that our driest year on record in the Baltimore/Washington area, a year where we only had about 21" of rain, was a catastrophic drought by our standards. This was in the 1930s IIRC. Yet, this is still 6" wetter than an AVERAGE year in Denver!

Hairmetal - Excellent points. The worst part about growing in Wyoming in my opinion is that spring comes so late and winter comes so early.

+oM, you are right, it's definitely a different kind of beauty out here where no trees grow. It's different, but it grows on you and you miss it terribly when you're away.

Hackberry bark: