City Forester

American Elm Preservation

The City of Grosse Pointe Park has nearly 700 mature American elms on City easements. This is a very high number compared to other cities, but still far fewer than the 4000 we had in 1951, when the Dutch elm disease fungus was first diagnosed in our city.

The Grosse Pointe Park Beautification Commission initiated its elm preservation program in 1980, and the basics have not changed:

• On going inspection of healthy American elms.

• Removal of diseased trees and branches as soon as possible to slow the spread of the disease.

• Increasing the overall vigor of the trees. This may include watering during dry spells to prevent stress.

• Pruning when dormant to remove dead wood every 4-5 years.

Trim your elm in the winter.

The Beautification Commission also encourages homeowners to inject fungicide into their American elms as a preventative, and is available to teach residents the proper way to inject elms or refer them to reasonably priced professionals.

For further information, contact Al Mazur of the Beautification Commission at 821-8446 or City forester Brian Colter at 822-5020.

City of Grosse Pointe Park     2008
For general information about the city contact us at clerk@grossepointepark.org