Plant Type

Tree

 

Height Range

40-60', 60-100'

 

Flower Color

Yellow, White

 

Flower Season

Summer

 

Leaf Color

Green

 

Bark Color

Brown, Grey

 

Fruit Color

Brown

 

Fruit Season

Fall

Sun

Full, Half

 

Water

Medium, Extra in Summer

 

Growth Rate

Moderate

 

Soil Type

Clay, Loam

 

Soil Condition

Average, Rich, Well-drained, Moist

 

Soil pH

Acid, Neutral, Basic

 

Adverse Factors

Attracts Bees, Messy

Design Styles

Formal, Woodland

 

Accenting Features

Fragrance, Specimen

 

Seasonal Interest

Summer

 

Location Uses

Background, Lawn, Patio, Park

 

Special Uses

Screen, Shade Tree

 

Attracts Wildlife

Birds

American Linden is native to eastern North America. It is a large, deciduous tree with an oval to spreading pyramidal form that is very distinctive in the winter. Grows about 50 to 70 feet tall and nearly as wide, though size varies greatly between cultivars. Leaves are broadly heart-shaped and dark green avove and pale green to silvery underneath. Autumn foliage is yellow. Flowers are small and nearly hidden by the foliage, but you'll know they are there by the honey-clove scent in late June to early July. Followed by very small, round, fuzzy nutlets. Bark is grey-brown with distinctive, flat-topped ridges. Great shade or lawn tree.

Grow in well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers fertile, well-drained loams. Tolerates some drought once established. Some think the tree messay, what with the flowers and the little nutlets, but the flowers are divinely fragrant, and make a charming mat under the tree when they are spent.