| Identity card of the plant | |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Celtis Australis |
| Common name | Hackberry, Hackberry of Provence, Southern hackberry. |
| Family | Cannabaceae (formerly Ulmaceae). |
| Origin | Southern Europe, Asia Minor. |
| Size | 15 to 25 m high x 8 to 10 m wide (smaller in cool climate). |
| Foliage | obsolete. The petiolate leaves are oval, with a tapered apex and the pubescent, toothed blade, like the leaves of nettle. Light green when young, the leaves darken and then turn pale yellow in autumn. |
| Flowering | in the spring, when the leaves appear. Small and green in color, they go unnoticed. |
| Fruit | Drupes round and fleshy (hackberry), black when ripe and edible. |
| Exhibition | sun. |
| Ground | Drained. |
| Rusticity | -15 °C. |
Resistant to drought, pollution, sea spray, poor soil, and even temperatures close to -15°C, it can be planted in most areas.
Why plant a hackberry of Provence?
The hackberry, cultivated in the past for its hard-sided and flexible wood, is now considered a large ornamental tree: carried by a large regular trunk with gray bark punctuated by protuberances, its imposing, rounded and spreading crown offers a very popular shade in summer, in the large gardens of southern France, especially to protect the houses from the sun.
Its silhouette also makes it a good alignment tree. Resistant to pollution, it is sometimes found along roads or in cities.
Namely: hackberry is an essence very suitable for making bonsai.
How to grow a hackberry?
Choosing the right place
The hackberry adapts to many (drained) soils, even poor or superficial, but its preference is for rich, deep and moist soils (water helps to accelerate its rather slow growth). Although relatively hardy (on drained soil), full sun and heat are important for its development; Shade and freshness are obstacles to its growth.
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Successful planting
Plant hackberry in autumn (bare-rooted, clod or container-rooted) or spring (container-based). Install a stake as soon as planting and make a contribution of ripe compost into the planting hole. Water generously. The first two summers after planting, continue watering.
Once well rooted, the hackberry can withstand drought.
Perform a training size
To obtain a long trunk, a training pruning is advised in the first years. Then the size is no longer necessary, but it is very well supported.
If you need to intervene to contain the development of the tree or to do a cleaning pruning, do it in March-April.
For how long?
The hackberry of Provence has a very long life expectancy. On the Mediterranean rim, it can live 600 years. Knowing that it is not prone to diseases, if you welcome one in the garden, it is for a good time.
When and how to multiply the hackberry of Provence?
In the fall, you can:
• Sowing seeds after stratification;
• Cutting august stems;
• Divide suckers of 1 or 2 years.
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Hackberry
The hackberry of Provence has an American cousin: the hackberry of Virginia (Celtis occidentalis), native to North America. Its leaves are smooth, its fruits dark purple and its bark rough. Its wider crown and drooping branches make it less suitable for alignments, but perfect for parks. More rustic and faster growing, it offers assets that do not leave gardeners and planters indifferent.