Characteristics
- Scientific name:
In total. Tilia platyphyllos - Family: Mallow family (Malvaceae)
- Occurrence: Central and southern Europe
- Growth type: deciduous tree
- Growth height: 30 m to 40 m
- Leaves: deciduous, roundish-ovate
- Flower: cymes
- Flowering time: June
- Fruit: nut fruit
- Bark: cracked
- Wood: soft, easy to cut
- Use: park tree, privacy screen, hedge, medicinal plant
Portrait of a small-leaved lime
Sheet
The steeply ascending branches of the dome-shaped crown of the small-leaved lime wear a dense robe of foliage that provides pleasant shade. The alternate leaves hang close together on the long petiole. The picturesque deciduous tree is often also called large-leaved linden. You can recognize a small-leaved lime leaf by these characteristics:
- Shoots: in early spring from narrow, pointed buds
- Leaf shape: asymmetrical, roundish-ovate to heart-shaped with a distinctive, slender tip
- Leaf size: 10 cm to 15 cm on the 3 cm to 5 cm long stem
- Leaf margin: serrate, finely toothed (little teeth point towards the tip of the leaf)
- Leaf color: dark green, leaf veins have white hairs on the underside
- Autumn colour: yellow
also read
- How do you distinguish summer linden and winter linden?
- The hearts of summer - the leaves of the small-leaved linden
- The leaves of the linden tree - shapes, textures and symbolism
blossom
If the small-leaved lime blooms in June, the air is filled with the intense scent of honey. Even from afar, day and night, you can hear the buzzing and buzzing of busy insects harvesting the sugar-sweet nectar. Since the Middle Ages, the summer linden tree has been revered as a symbol of life and, as a village linden tree, it still marks the center of cultural life in rural areas. Up to 40,000 flowers with these characteristics gather in a corolla:
- flower ecology: hermaphrodite
- flower shape: umbellate (3 to 6 individual flowers), hanging
- flower color: light yellow
- single flower: 12 mm to 14 mm with greenish white bract and up to 40 stamens
- pollinator: bees, bumblebees and moths
- special feature: high sugar value of up to 7.7 mg sugar per day and flower
Linden blossoms are attested to have natural healing powers. Already in the 17th In the 19th century, healers recognized the sweat-inducing and calming effect of linden blossom tea. Furthermore, the small-leaved lime is an important source of nectar and pollen bee pasture.
fruit
The small-leaved lime sends its seeds well packed in a capsule on their journey. In autumn, the fruits glide like small helicopters through parks and forests, much to the delight of hikers of all ages. These botanical attributes characterize the fruit of a summer linden:
- category: nut fruit, aggregate fruit
- infructescence: nuts with one or two seeds in groups with 5 to 7 individual fruits
- fruit ripening: Sept
- special feature: Rotorcraft with a bract as a wing for wind propagation (nose sweeper)
The spherical fruits are hairy and 8 mm to 10 mm in size. The hard-shelled fruits release their seeds before winter, because a wintry cold stimulus is necessary for germination.
bark
The bark on the upright trunk is dark gray to brownish in color. Over time, the bark undergoes a transformation. In youth shape narrow cracks the appearance. On an old summer linden, the bark shows deep furrows and flakes off in places.
wood
The wood of the summer linden does not differ from the wood of other European linden species, such as a Dutch linden (Tilia europaea) or small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata). Basswood is soft, easy to work with and easy to plane or cut. The wood is mainly used in sculpture, turning and carving. Famous late Gothic works of art were mainly made of lime wood. Today, the wood is used in a variety of ways in the construction of musical instruments. Harps, piano keys, organ pipe reeds or the sound bodies of guitars and bass violins are often made of lime wood.
digression
Small-leaved lime Small-leaved lime difference
Plant the summer linden
You can buy and plant the summer linden all year round in pots and bales. Inexpensive, bare-root Heister are usually available from mid-October and are best planted before the first frost. For use as a house tree, privacy screen, fencing or bee pasture the right location with the appropriate planting distance is important. Read these useful tips to help you plant a large-leaved lime tree properly:
Location
These light and soil conditions are optimal for a large-leaved lime in top form:
- Sunny to semi-shady.
- Warm and sheltered from the wind with no risk of late frost.
- Fresher to wetter garden floor, permeable and profound.
- Nutrient-rich soil with a pH between 6 and 7.
planting distance
As a representative specimen, the large-leaved lime needs a sufficient distance to neighboring plants and buildings. Casting shadows is fatal for the tree species and results in a deformity of the crown. If the linden species serves as a privacy screen, the correct planting distance determines whether the young plants form a seamless hedge. The following table provides an overview:
| use | planting distance |
|---|---|
| Park tree (uncut) | 15m to 20m |
| house tree (pruned regularly) | 10m to 15m |
| Avenue/street tree | 2 m to 4 m (to the road) |
| hedge (80 cm high potted goods) | 25cm to 30cm |
| Hedge (150 cm high Heister) | 50cm to 60cm |
The prescribed distance of a small-leaved lime to property line can be found in the neighborhood law of your federal state. The rule of thumb for Germany is that trees with a growth height of 2 meters and above must keep a minimum distance of 2 to 3 meters to the neighboring property. In view of a crown extension of up to 20 meters, this value is of course tight.
Plant the summer linden
The right planting technique sets the course for a magnificent large-leaved lime. Important planting tips for Tilia platyphyllos in a nutshell:
- planting pit size: double the volume of the root ball.
- start fertilization: Enrich excavation to a third with compost and horn shavings.(€9.00 at Amazon*)
- soak roots: Place potted and bare root produce in water until no more air bubbles rise.
- planting depth: maintain the previous planting depth (pay attention to the soil mark on the trunk).
- Support: hammer in a wooden post next to the deciduous tree and attach it to the trunk with hose clamps.
- casting: water regularly and abundantly on the day of planting and in the following weeks.
After planting in autumn mulch Please fill the root disc with leaves and spruce branches.
care for small-leaved lime
The summer linden is easy to care for. The cornerstones of the simple care program are a needs-based supply of water and nutrients. The use decides on the scope of the cut care. This is how you care for Tilia platyphyllos in an exemplary manner:
Pour
In the year of planting and in the following three to four years of standing, please water a young large-leaved lime tree during summer drought. Leave that water hose Walk in the morning or evening until the first puddles form on the root disc. Older specimens have developed a vital heart root system with a deep taproot and are content with normal rainfall.
Fertilize
A generous helping of compost will get your growth going in the spring. Distribute 3 liters of mature compost soil and 100 grams horn shavings(€9.00 at Amazon*) on the tree disc. Rake in the organic fertilizer superficially and water again. By showering the root disc with potassium-rich in August and September comfrey manure, strengthen the winter hardiness of your large-leaved lime in a natural way.
To cut
The summer linden is one of the pruning-tolerant tree species. You cut an imposing specimen less often than a hedge. Don't miss out on these tips for perfect haircut care:
- cut tree: every 2 to 3 years, thin out the crown in February, cut back branches that are too deep or too long at the end of June.
- cut hedge: Extensive shape and maintenance cut in the winter months, corrective care cut at the end of June.
- Remove saplings: tear off unwanted shoots from the root runners with a bold jerk.
The good-natured pruning tolerance of European linden species also allows a radical rejuvenation cut into the old wood. Creative hobby gardeners like to grow small-leaved limes as topiaries on high trellises.
Popular Varieties
Magnificent small-leaved limes can be discovered in many different varieties in tree nurseries and garden centers:
- Orebro: Swedish variety suitable for gardens with a height of 15 m to 18 m for sunny to partially shaded locations.
- Fastigiata: slender summer linden with a height of 8 m to 10 m and a spread of 3 m to 4 m.
- rubra: colorful cultivar with coral red branches, yellow flowers and dark green foliage, up to 35 m tall and 20 m wide.
- Pannonia: Large-leaved summer linden, in the ideal location with a spherical crown, 10 m tall and 3 m wide.
FAQ
From a horticultural point of view, what is the difference between large-leaved lime and small-leaved lime?
The summer linden grows to an average height of 35 meters and a width of 20 meters. With an annual increase of 40 to 60 centimeters, it is one of the fast-growing tree species. Tilia platyphyllos sprout early, likes warmth very much and tolerates pruning well. The deciduous tree thrives best in fresh, moist, nutrient-rich and deep soil. A small-leaved lime remains significantly smaller at 25 meters in height and 12 meters in width, with an annual increase of around 30 centimeters. Tilia cordata is less demanding and grows splendidly even in sandy, dry soil.
How is lime blossom tea prepared?
To prepare a cup, pour over a teaspoon (approx. 2 g) linden blossoms with 150 milliliters of boiling hot water. Cover and let the infusion steep for eight minutes. Now strain off the remains of the blossom and enjoy the aromatic linden blossom tea sip by sip
What do linden blossoms look like?
The inflorescence of a linden tree is made up of several individual flowers that gather to form a hanging umbel. A single linden flower is about 12mm in size and develops with five sepals and five petals which are yellowish white in colour. This double perianth frames numerous stamens. In addition, there is a greenish-white bract on each linden blossom.
