Zbone, I wish I had a specific anwser for you but I don't. You're right in that Dutch Elm disease has been and is, a real problem and has greatly reduced the elm population in numerous parts of the country. Another disease that elm are suseptable to is Elm phloem necrosis....more nasty stuff. Both diseases can attack all of the elms. American elm and Slippery elm are considered "soft" elms, with the others considered hard elms. All elms, according to my info anyway, have excellent bending properties.