Anyone looking for a versatile deciduous shade tree for their landscape should consider a Linden. Lindens offer a unique beauty and adapt well to most landscape conditions. Botanically, Lindens belong to the genus Tilia and there are two species commonly grown in our area. Tilia americana is also known as American Linden or Basswood and Tilia cordata, often called Littleleaf Linden. Each of these species offers us several nice varieties for our landscapes. The Basswood is also valued as one of the trees native to our area. While the different varieties have distinctive characteristics, they all have the same basic care requirements. Lindens all do their best in a full sun or a very high light situation (that means they don't have to be standing alone unshaded by any other tree or structure, but they do need lots of sun). They will tolerate moderate shade, but shade will result in a slower growing, more open tree. They all have attractive gray-brown bark that develops ridges as the trees mature. As young plants, most lindens are pyramidal. Some varieties maintain this shape and others change into a more spreading habit as they mature. Lindens are fully hardy in all of Zone 4. Grown in Zone 3b, there may be some winter damage. The variety 'Sentry American' is a bit hardier. Linden leaves are typically symmetrical, as wide as they are long. The lustrous dark green of the upper surface of the leaves is accentuated by the pale green of the undersides. American linden leaves can be from 4 to 8 inches long and wide. Littleleaf linden leaves are seldom more than 3 inches long and wide. Lindens are also valued for their incredibly fragrant flowers in early summer. The flowers themselves are pale yellow-green in loose clusters and the flowers are followed by small seed pods. The flowers and seeds emerge from the centers of unique leaf-like bracts that are pale green, adding another dimension to their bloom. Linden blooms smell like honey and are very attractive to bees. They also can be dried for a nice herbal tea.
Ideally, lindens should be planted in deep, moist, fertile soils. Fortunately, they are very adaptable and will grow in almost any well-drained soil. A moderate pH is best, but lindens will tolerate slightly acid or alkaline soil. When grown in optimal conditions, lindens can grow very quickly. Tests were done here in Minnesota that started with trees around 8-10 feet tall. After 8 years, they averaged 25 feet tall. Of course, in less than ideal conditions (such as clay soil), growth will be slower.
Lindens aren't plagued by serious insect problems. Only occasionally will they be bothered by cankerworms, aphids or a type of eriophyid mite that causes slight cosmetic damage (small spindly galls form on leaf surfaces.) Lindens are one of the trees susceptible to verticillium wilt so they should not be planted where an infected tree (of any variety) has been removed. They can also have problems with nectria canker.
Those problems can be minimized by careful pruning at the right time of year (not during the growing season). Lindens are not very tolerant of salt accumulations. Avoid using any herbicides in the grass surrounding Lindens. Lindens are also known for producing suckers around the base of the tree that should be pruned out. Some people don't like the linden's habit of dropping its fruits (and the bracts they were attached to) over a period of several weeks in late summer. To plant a linden, follow the recommendations in Bachman's Planting Guide for Trees and Shrubs. Take the time to locate the root flare at the crown of the root system before planting Lindens; they are sensitive to being planted too deep, a condition that encourages girdling roots to develop, slowly strangling the tree.
American Linden Varieties Species The "plain" version of this plant; rapid grower with dense foliage; creates heavy shade; pyramidal to round shape; grows 75-90' tall and 40-50' wide; pale yellow fall color; native to our area.
'Redmond' A selection of American linden valued for its dense, uniform pyramidal shape; medium growth rate; creates heavy shade; grows 40-60' tall and 25-30' wide; largest leaves of all the lindens; leaves are a slightly lighter green than the species; bright yellow fall color; branches have a reddish tone in winter; good selection for boulevards and for yards.
'Sentry American' An improved selection of the species; upright branching habit; grows 60' tall and 30-40' wide; yellow fall color; young branches have pretty silvery-gray bark.
'Boulevard' An especially narrow variety; ascending branches; pyramidal habit; grows 60' tall and 30' wide; yellow fall color; attractive specimen for boulevards or close spaces.
'Pyramidal' Ascending branches when the tree is young, later spreads out to a more open tree; grows 60' tall and 40' wide; yellow fall color; propagated from a seedling strain of the species.
'Frontyard' A selection with exceptionally symmetric branching habit; broadly pyramidal when young and becomes more rounded as it matures; grows 60-70' tall and 40' wide; yellow fall color.
'Legend' Distinctly pyramidal shape with a strong central leader and good branching; leaves have nice color all season; grows 50-60' tall and 35' wide; yellow fall color.
Littleleaf Linden Varieties Species Broad, pyramidal habit makes this an excellent street or landscape tree; grows 45'+ tall and 30-35' wide; glossy foliage; very good on poor soils; medium growth rate; branches densely as it matures.
'Greenspire' Probably the most popular variety of linden; an especially strong, straight trunk; oval to pyramidal shape; grows 40-50' tall and 30-35' wide; good dark color on leathery leaves, yellow fall color; considered one of the best lindens for stressful growing conditions; slightly slower growing than others.
'Shamrock' A selection from 'Greenspire' with stouter branching and a more open canopy; leaves slightly larger than those on 'Greenspire'; medium growth rate; grows 40-50' tall and 30' wide; dark, shiny foliage color holds well into the summer; yellowish-green fall color.
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