The elm cultivar Ulmus 'Hillieri' arose from a chance seedling at Hillier's Pitt Corner nursery near Winchester, England, in 1918, and was marketed from 1928 as Ulmus hillieri,Hillier & Sons, Cat. 38T, p.52, 1928 (Winchester) a name accepted by Christine Buisman in her 1931 labelling of a specimen in France. Since at least 1944 the tree has been determined a form of Ulmus × hollandica, its designation at Kew Gardens, in Green, and in later Hillier catalogues. In 1940, 'Hillieri' was noted as being a hybrid of uncertain origin. Krüssmann notes that for a time the tree was listed by Hilliers as U. × hillieri.
Not to be confused with Ulmus 'Jacqueline Hillier', which also has a shrubby habit but much smaller leaves.
Description 'Hillieri' is a graceful, compact, slow-growing miniature tree rarely > 1.2 m in height,The 2002 edition of The Hillier Manual of Trees and Shrubs misprints as "usually less than 12 m high" (p.369). widely branched and bearing weeping branches. The small leaves (5 – 7 cm by 2.5 – 3 cm) turn crimson and yellow in favourable autumns,Hilliers' Manual of Trees & Shrubs. (1977). David & Charles, Newton Abbot, UK. a feature of at least one Japanese Elm cultivar, 'Jacan'. The 'vivid scarlet' of the autumn leaves was noted (1940) as being a unique colouring for elms.
Pests and diseases The degree of the tree's susceptibility to Dutch elm disease (DED) is unknown. It has been noted that shrub-elms are usually less prone to infection.Rafaël Govaerts, Kris Michielsen and Eike Jablonski, 'Untraced weeping broadleaf cultivars: an overview', dendrology.lu
Cultivation A specimen stood in the Arboretum national des Barres, Nogent-sur-Vernisson, France, in the 1930s; Sheet described as Ulmus hillieri, Arboretum national des Barres specimen, Nogent-sur-Vernisson (1931) the tree was present in The Hague in the same decade.Christine Buisman, 'Verslag van de onderzoekingen over de iepenziekte, verricht in het phytopathologisch laboratorium Willie Commelin scholten te Baarn, gedurende 1932 (1)', Tijdschrift over Planteziekte, Vol 39 Iss 4, April 1933, p.86 It was introduced to the US in 1954 as Ulmus hillieri.Plant Inventory No. 162. 213985 An old low shrub-elm in Stanmer Park Arboretum, Brighton (2018, now storm-damaged),'Rare elms in the spotlight for Sussex Tree Festival', 11 June 2025 planted in the winter of 1965-6, with level rather than pendulous branching and leaves closely matching 'Hillieri' herbarium specimens in Kew HerbariumKew Plants of the World Online: ' Ulmus × hollandica Mill. Images'; Kew herbarium specimen of Ulmus × hollandica Mill. cv. 'Hillieri': Image 4 of 52; ID:1128161; powo.science.kew.org and the Arboretum national des Barres, was said (2018) by Hillier Nurseries, who supplied many elms to the arboretum, to be 'Hillieri',Correspondence from Hillier Nurseries Limited, October 2018. though it is about 4 m tall and lacks crimson autumn colour. Dutch authorities who examined the tree in 2010 conjectured Japanese Elm hybrid.Correspondence from Holland, October 2018.
A tree cultivated in Denmark as Ulmus × hollandica 'Hillieri' or Dukke-elm (:Doll's elm) appears from photographs to be U. 'Jacqueline Hillier'.Lønbæk Planteskole, Holstebro, Denmark; loenbaek.dk A tree in the Arboretum Volčji Potok, Slovenia, labelled Ulmus × hollandica 'Hillieri', has leaves much smaller than those of 'Hillieri', and may be a form of dwarf Ulmus parvifolia.Arboretum Volčji Potok, tree photoArboretum Volčji Potok, leaves photo
Synonymy Ulmus hillieri Hort.: Hillier & Sons, Winchester, England. Cat. 38T, p. 52, 1928.
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