Distinctive features of a linden plant, planting and care in a personal plot, how to reproduce, diseases and pests that arise during cultivation, interesting notes and applications, types.
Linden (Tilia) belongs to the arboreal representatives of the flora included in the Linden family (Tiliaceae). Although, according to the latest research in the field of genetics, it became clear that all such plants will belong to the subfamily of the same name within the Malvaceae family. The genus includes up to 40 species with a shrub and tree-like shape, as well as more than 100 different hybrid varieties.
All types of lindens for the most part prefer to grow in the northern hemisphere, where a subtropical and temperate climate prevails. But at the same time, most of them come from the southeastern regions of Asia.
| Family name | Linden |
| Growing period | Perennial |
| Vegetation form | Tree-like |
| Breeding method | Mainly vegetative (cuttings, root shoots and seedlings), but seed can be used |
| Landing period | Autumn or spring |
| Landing rules | Depth and width of the landing pit 0.5 m; if the planting is group, then at least 4 m is left between the plants, when forming an alley - at least 2 m |
| Priming | Nutritious, well-drained, sandy, humus-flavored |
| Soil acidity values, pH | 6, 5-7 - neutral |
| Lighting degree | High lighting or shading |
| Humidity parameters | Regular and abundant watering for young plants |
| Special care rules | Drought tolerant in adulthood, requires garter pegs when planting |
| Height values | Up to 20-40 m |
| Inflorescences or type of flowers | Umbrella |
| Flower color | Pale yellow or creamy yellow |
| Flowering period | From late May to late July |
| Decorative time | Spring Summer |
| Application in landscape design | As a tapeworm, melliferous plant and medicinal plant, the formation of hedges and alleys |
| USDA zone | 3 and higher |
The name in Latin "Tilia" the genus of these plants received thanks to the word in Greek "ptilion", which translates as "wing". This is because the bracts are characterized by pterygoid outlines. If we take the name in Ukrainian, then the term "linden" comes from the word in Old Slavic "lipaty", which means sticky, since a very sticky substance appears during flowering. Well, in paganism, the goddess of Spring is named Lada and our ancestors dedicated this plant to her. The Baltic peoples have beliefs, as a result of which the linden tree was a symbol of the feminine principle. On the territory of Western European countries, the linden was the keeper of home comfort and hearth.
All representatives of the Linden genus, as mentioned above, are shrubs or trees. The height of the latter can vary in the range of 20–40 m. The crown of a plant can take on various shapes: pyramidal, rounded, oval or other shapes. However, if the lighting level is insufficient, then the linden will take the form of a fluffy shrub. The trunk of plants always grows straight, but it is not always the only one, sometimes there are many linden trunks.
Linden foliage is quite large, its length reaches 30 cm. The shape of the leaf plate does not shine with variety, it is usually heart-shaped, oblique-oval or oblique-heart-shaped, the edge may be more or less serrated. The leaves on the branches grow in succession. When the leaf unfolds, a rapidly falling stipule is present next to it. There are often nectar glands (extrafloral nectranics) at the base of the leaf.
When flowering, multiple inflorescences are collected from the buds, which have the shape of umbrellas. They grow at a small distance from the bracts, which are different from normal foliage. Flowers are half-joined with its plate. The calyx and rim each have 5 members. The number of stamens is large and they grow together at the base, forming 5 bundles.
Interesting
Some varieties of lindens are devoid of anthers on their stamens, so the stamens are reborn in staminodes, acquiring sterility.
From the beginning to the end of flowering, a fragrant honey aroma hovers over the linden tree. When opened, the diameter of the flower is 1 cm. The color of the petals in flowers can be creamy or pale yellow.
Flowers are pollinated by lepidoptera insects (bees, bumblebees and others). After pollination, the fruits ripen with nut-like outlines. Since in such fruits the ovules do not fully grow, they are one- or two-shift.
Linden is always considered a tree of parks and squares, and with simple cultivation in the garden, it will become not only a highlight, but also a source of the fragrant aroma of medicinal inflorescences.
Planting and caring for linden trees outdoors
- Selection of a landing site. The plant is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and both a completely open sunny location and with shading are suitable for it. It is recommended that near the linden tree there is no near-passing groundwater, as they will negatively affect the state of the root system. If you plant the plants from the windward side, then as the dense crown grows and forms, it will protect the site from the wind.
- Soil for linden preferred with good drainage properties, moderately moisturized and nutritious. It is curious that the linden foliage, falling off, itself will serve as an improvement in the state of the substrate. The best choice is humus-rich sandstones. But many gardeners make up the substrate from turf soil, river sand and compost.
- Planting a linden tree. It can be carried out both in spring and in autumn days. It is advisable to select wet and cool weather for this operation. But as practice shows, planting in the fall is best suited for rooting and overcoming plant adaptation. Prepare the seedling hole in advance. Its width and depth should be at least half a meter. At the bottom, it is recommended to lay first a drainage layer (expanded clay or pebbles), and then rotted manure up to 15 cm, which can be mixed with superphosphate. At the same time, 50-60 g of fertilizer is taken for each seedling. Then the linden seedling is placed in a depression and abundant watering is carried out. After this, the formation of the near-stem hole is performed. This will serve as a guarantee that during watering the moisture will not spread from the roots, and its accumulation is guaranteed near the linden tree. When planting large linden seedlings, the height of which varies within 1.5–5 meters, the autumn period will also be the best. During the season, you will need to feed the plants with mullein-based infusion three times with the arrival of spring, as well as at the beginning and in the middle of summer. Top dressing is essential for the normal growth of young linden trees. To form hedges, the distance between linden seedlings is left about 2 meters, and for group plantings, this figure should not be less than 4 meters.
- Watering for linden, while it is young, regular and abundant is required, but care must be taken that the soil is not waterlogged. As they grow older, linden trees cope better with drought, they have enough natural rainfall. However, in especially dry periods for an adult specimen, it is recommended to pour up to 20 liters of water per 1 m2 of its crown.
- Fertilizers for linden. The best time to feed linden plants is the beginning of March, when the snow cover is just melting. Such a remedy will be a mullein-based solution, and ammonium nitrate and urea are recommended for foliage growth. These components are dissolved in a bucket of water at the rate of 10 liters, 1 kg, 20 and 25 g, respectively. When the leaf fall is over, fertilizing with nitroammophos is performed (20 g of the drug is dissolved in a 10-liter bucket of water).
- General tips for caring for a linden tree. After each watering or rain, it is necessary to loosen the soil in the near-trunk circle to a depth of no more than 10 cm. Then mulch this area using chips or sawdust from wood or peat chips. Since the plant easily tolerates pruning, it helps to shape the crown in accordance with the wishes of the gardener.
- Linden pruning is performed only for the next growing season with the arrival of March, while the buds have not yet blossomed. For the first time, shoots should not be cut more than 1/3 of their length. With the arrival of autumn, you can remove dried branches or those that grow in the middle of the crown.
- The use of linden in landscape design. Usually these plants are often planted in city parks, but they will look very organic in the garden. With their help, alleys and hedges are formed. Linden phytowalls look good. Good neighbors for linden trees are maples and rowan trees, which, with the arrival of autumn, attract the eye with beautifully colored foliage and fruits, as well as oaks and beeches.
If the linden transplant is carried out incorrectly, then the death of young seedlings is inevitable. The transplant is carried out only after the end of the growing season. To prevent this from happening, the following rules must be strictly observed:
- Dig up strong and healthy specimens growing in a well-lit and open location.
- The seedling is excavated very carefully so as not to damage the root system.
- Even if the root process is damaged during digging, then it is immediately carefully removed, and the place of the cut is sprinkled with ash.
- Excavated plants need to be planted immediately, as exposed roots dry out quickly under the influence of the wind.
- When installing a seedling in a pit, its root shoots should be free.
- When planting in a hole, pegs are installed, to which the plant will then be tied. This helps young lindens to resist wind gusts and to harden well.
- It is recommended to tie the trunk of a linden tree to a peg using a soft strip of material.
- The root collar of a linden seedling should be located at the same level or slightly higher with the soil in the area.
- When adding soil to the root system of the seedling, soil compaction is carried out to the central part from the edges of the pit.
- After planting linden, abundant watering is necessary, even if the transplant is performed on a rainy and damp day.
- To provide longer soil moisture in the hole, it is recommended to mulch the near-trunk circle of a linden seedling with dry soil or peat. In this case, the soil in the hole must be periodically loosened.
If it is decided to transplant in the spring, then this is done before the buds bloom on the plant.
How to reproduce linden?
To get a young linden tree, which will become a source of inimitable aroma during the summer period during flowering, you can use both seed and vegetative methods:
- Seed propagation of linden. This method takes a lot of time. To get a young linden seedling, you will have to wait at least 10 years. Seeds should be stratified before planting (kept in a cold temperature at 0-5 degrees for a long period of time). Seed material is placed in a container, mixed with moistened sand or sawdust. After that, the container must be placed on the lower shelf of the refrigerator or in a dark and unheated room for six months, that is, immediately after collecting the seeds. Some gardeners simply sow them in a peat-sandy substrate, deepening 2-3 cm, and then bury the container with crops in the garden, covering it with soil, fallen leaves and snow. When spring comes, the stratification is complete and the seeds need to be sown in a school (seedling bed). They will germinate there, and when the height of the seedlings reaches 10-15 cm, then they need to be transplanted to a permanent place in the garden. In this case, young lindens should be shaded from direct sunlight in hot weather and sheltered for the winter. However, if you want to get seedlings that will take root in the open field with a 100% guarantee, then they are cultivated in indoor conditions.
- Reproduction of linden by stem layering. This method is much faster than the previous one. They are engaged in it with the arrival of spring, when the leaves on the shoots have not yet blossomed. For this, healthy branches are selected at the bottom of the plant. They carefully bend to the soil and small grooves are dug at the point of their contact so that the shoot can be laid in them. Then, the peel is removed from the branch in the place where it will lie in the substrate. The shoot is laid in a groove, fixed in it with a stiff wire and sprinkled with a substrate. After a year or two, root shoots will form at the layer, and then it will be possible to carry out a neat separation from the parent linden. The planting site must be prepared in advance and the seedling is planted immediately.
- Reproduction of linden by root layers - also a fairly quick method, since linden trees are characterized by a large amount of formed root growth. As a result, such plants can be separated from the root system of the mother linden with the help of a pruner. After separation, it is necessary to land in a selected and prepared place. But everything will be more complicated if there is no linden on the site, in which case you will have to purchase a seedling in the nursery, go to the nearest forest or forest plantation for a linden seedling.
Read also how to grow a cup tree outdoors.
Diseases and pests arising from the cultivation of linden in the garden
Although the plant is persistent, it happens that if the growing conditions are violated, the following diseases affect it:
- Perforated and black spot, which respectively appear as holes on fruits and leaves, as well as black markings. For the fight, it is recommended to destroy fruits that have fallen to the ground and affected foliage, since these parts can serve as carriers of the disease. All affected plant specimens must be treated with 1% Bordeaux liquid.
- White rot occurs at high air humidity and is clearly visible on the leaves in the form of whitish spots. In order to heal a plant, it is required to treat it with preparations that contain copper, such as, for example, copper sulfate.
Among the pests that can cause trouble for linden trees, there are bedbugs and scale insects, bark beetles and pyramidal scoops, gall mites and tube-worm beetles, silkworms and lilac hawk moths. Linden trees can also suffer from attacks by moths, leaf rollers and goldmails. To save the plant, it is recommended to use insecticidal preparations with a wide spectrum of action, for example, Karbofos, Fitoverm or Actellik.
It happens that problems arise from birds and rodents. The latter spoil the bark in the winter months, so the trunks need to be tied with burlap, roofing felt or use a non-woven material like spandond.
Read also about growing and caring for a tree in the garden
Interesting notes about the plant, the use of linden
Since ancient times, mankind has known about the plant and its medicinal properties. It is not without reason that linden honey is often used for colds and has a special aroma. Its color can be whitish or milky yellow.
Linden flowers are used for medicinal purposes due to the fact that they contain vitamin C, the glycoside talicin, as well as carotene and flavone glycosides. However, the lime bark is also used as a raw material for medicines, since almost 8% of oils and the triterpene compound tiliadin are found in it. Usually, means with diaphoretic and diuretic properties are prepared from linden blossom. They reduce fever and eliminate cramps, inflammation, and help relieve pain symptoms. Decoctions and tinctures on linden flowers are prescribed by folk healers when a patient suffers from headaches or faints. Such a remedy will help with inflammatory processes in the oral cavity or sore throat. This is because flowers can have an antimicrobial effect, so rinsing with decoctions of linden inflorescences is used.
Due to the fact that linden flowers have the above medicinal properties, they help to increase the secretion of gastric juice, help to increase the formation of bile and its entry into the duodenum. In addition, doctors noted the effect of linden blossom decoctions on the nervous system, while a mild sedative (sedative) effect occurs.
But not only this is the use of decoctions based on linden flowers. Due to the softening effect, they are used as lotions, if a person has burns or ulcers, hemorrhoids become inflamed. Such a positive effect has been noticed after using the remedy, as the removal of pain symptoms in rheumatism or gout.
Tea, which contains lime blossom, also has a healing effect, pleases the eye with a golden yellow tint and a wonderful aroma. The extract obtained from linden flowers is recommended when there has been a violation of metabolic processes in the body or digestion.
Ladies from high society have long appointed a rendezvous for their gentlemen under linden crowns. You can often hear how the linden is considered a symbol of freedom and happiness. But there is a historical explanation for this - when the French Revolution won a victory, a large number of linden trees were planted in Paris to perpetuate this event.
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Description of linden species
Common linden (Tilia europaea)
also called European linden or Heart-leaved linden. According to the specific name, it is clear that the plant comes from European territories, in Berlin there is even an alley of lindens bearing a romantic and telling name - Unter den Linden, which translates as "Under the Lindens". The plant grows mainly in the wild in mixed or deciduous forests. Some specimens can be over 1000 years old. The height of the tree is 40 m, the crown is characterized by the wide outlines of the tent. On old plants, the bark is fissured, gray in color. Shoots grown in the current season have a light brown color and dense pubescence, after a year they become naked and of a darker color.
The foliage is rounded or slightly elongated, deeply cordate at the base, but sometimes the base can be truncated. There is a serration on the edge. Leaf length is 6–8 cm on average with the same width. The color of the leaves above is dark emerald. When flowering in inflorescences, there are from 3 to 8 flowers. They can be shorter than the bracts or larger in size. The diameter of flowers reaches 1.5 cm when opened. The flowering process occurs in the period from June to July. The fruits resemble rounded or slightly elongated nuts. Their length does not exceed 7–10 mm with a width of not more than 6–9 mm. Their color is greenish, 4–5 ribs are clearly visible on the fruit. Fruiting occurs from late summer to October.
Manchurian linden (Tilia mandshurica)
represented by a tree-like form. The height of the plant can be 15 m. Often the species is characterized by the presence of several trunks originating from the base. Older specimens have brownish-gray bark on the trunk with cracks running longitudinally. On one-year-old branches, it is naked and smooth, of brown color, their surface is densely covered with brown hairs. The crown pleases the eye with its density and wide outlines.
The leaves have petioles half their length. The length of the petiole is measured 4–5 cm. The leaf plates on the fruiting branches are rounded or broadly ovate. Their size is 8–10 cm in length, and the width is the same. The apex is drawn out, pointed, but the base can be truncated or heart-shaped, symmetrical. Coarsely serrated edge. When flowering, a drooping inflorescence is formed, composed of 10–12 buds. In this case, the fruit will be formed in half. The diameter of the flowers is 10–12 mm, the sepals have oblong contours. The color of the petals is lemon yellow. The flowering process occurs in mid-summer.
The fruit can be ball-shaped or elongated. Their size ranges from 8-11 mm. Their cover is dense and woody, while tubercles are felt under the fingers, which have dense pubescence. Fruits ripen in early autumn.
The natural area of distribution falls on the territory of Russia, which includes the Primorsky and Amur Territories, and can also be found in the Chinese and Korean lands.
Caucasian linden (Tilia caucasica)
It is clear that the lands of native growth extend to the Caucasian regions, the Crimean lands and Asia Minor. The height of such a tree can be 30–35 m. In young plants, the crown takes the form of a cone, but over time it rounds out and thickens. On the trunk, the bark is grayish or dark brown, cut with deep cracks. Shoots have a yellowish-brown or purple-brown tint, with a bare surface. The length of the leaf plate is 8–11 cm, its outlines are ovoid, unequal roundness is present, there may be truncation at the base or an implicit cordate. There is a sharpening at the top, a coarsely serrated edge. The color is dark green on the upper side, there is a glossy tint, the reverse is light green, hairs grow in the corners of the veins, gathering in beards.
When blooming, the buds open to a diameter of 1 cm. The color of the petals in the flowers is pale yellow. The semi-umbilical drooping inflorescence has 3–8 buds. The length of the inflorescence itself is 7-9 cm. The length of the bracts does not exceed 8 cm with a width of only 1-2 cm, its outlines are oblong. Flowers bloom from early summer to late July. During fruiting, which occurs in August-September, nut-like fruits are formed, reaching 1 cm in length and 5–8 mm in width. They have the shape of an oval or ball, on their surface ribs and velvety pubescence with gray or reddish hairs are clearly visible.
There are other species that are popular with gardeners, such as Silvery linden (felt linden), American linden, flat-leaved linden.
Video about growing linden in the garden:
