erubeck,
Patience is what it takes. You ought to be able to find some Zelkova growing as street trees out there in Kansas and take some seeds or cuttings off them. They are not quite hardy here. Look for one that has a nice vase shape and pick some seeds off it this fall. Try and get them off the tree branches rather than the ones that fall to the ground and stake the trunk so it's straight then cut it off where you want the fork and let two or three branches sprout from that point. the rest is just keeping it alive and refining it.
I figure this tree has another ten years before it's a contender. It needs a larger pot too, but I love the pot it's in.
