Elm is a good firewood but it's only average at best for firewood.
While elm is a good firewood it's output of heat is also low when compared to other firewood such as oak and other types of firewood.
Generally, properly prepared elm firewood seasons in about one year.
Wood cut from live trees would be ready to use, as firewood, during the second winter after cutting.
This allows air drying to naturally reduce the moisture content in the wood to a level that will burn well.
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae.
The genus first appeared in the Miocene geological period about 20 million years ago, originating in what is now central Asia.
In North America, the species most commonly planted was the American elm (Ulmus americana), which had unique properties that made it ideal for such use: rapid growth, adaptation to a broad range of climates and soils, strong wood, resistance to wind damage, and vase-like growth habit requiring minimal pruning.
American Elm is a highly desirable shade tree with moderately dense foliage and a symmetrical crown in a broad or upright vase shape.
When used as a street tree, shallow roots may displace sidewalks.
The average growth rate of American Elm trees is three to six feet per year, and the average life expectancy of American Elms is 300 years.