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Key identifying features.. Oblong yellow
flowers atop pale to medium green heart-shaped leaves in early summer.
Common name.. Greenspire Linden (a cultivar
of littleleaf linden)
Scientific name.. Tilia cordata -
'Greenspire'
Mature height.. 40 to 50 feet
Mature spread.. 35 to 45 feet
Form.. Pyramidal in youth, becoming oval
at maturity.
Fruit.. Tiny inconspicuous nut. (I don't
recall ever seeing any nuts on my tree.)
Flowers.. Fragrant pale yellow, early
summer flowers atop light to medium green leaves. (Flowers attract bees, beetles and aphids, but this rarely causes serious
damage, except in new transplants.)
Foliage.. Deciduous; medium shiny green
in summer, pale yellow in fall. Leaves are distinctly heart-shaped with serrated edges, alternate, simple.
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| Heart-shaped leaves |
Growth rate.. Textbooks list this tree
with a "medium" growth rate, but mine has grown upwards of 2 feet a year. See the growth chart for pictures.
Culture.. Prefers full sun to light shade.
Will grow dense in rich, moist soil, but will tolerate drought once established.
Best time to prune.. Late fall through
late winter, but the tree grows so fast and droops so much at the outer edges now (May 2006) that I prune when necessary for
walking and lawn mower clearance.
Of special note.. This tree is susceptible
to leaf galls.
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| Leaf galls, May 12, 2005 |
Not to worry.. Galls tend to form on
some of my linden tree's leaves in spring. From my estimation, about 10 percent of the leaves are usually affected with at
least a few galls. Galls form when insects or mites lay eggs or feed while on (or inside) the tree. Chemical secretions from
the egg-laying adult insects and the saliva from feeding larvae stimulates the leaves to produce an abundance of cells to
fend off the attack. While a bit unsightly, galls are not life-threatening to trees and have no impact on tree health other
than occasional early leaf fall and dieback of smaller branches. Since I'm not worried about the health of my tree, I will
take no action.
Julie's Comments.. This
tree was planted in memory of my dad, Bill Walton. My dad loved yellow flowers and since this tree has yellow flowers through
June -- the month of my dad's birthday and Father's Day too, I always think of him when I appreciate this tree. Since the
house faces west, we planted the tree in front of the bay window to provide shade for the living room, effectively reducing
our afternoon air-conditioning needs. This is one of my favorite trees. Symmetrical. Functional. Beautiful.
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| Planting day. Click the picture to see the growth chart. |
Planting date.. June
1997. This was the first tree we planted. Burlap ball. 2-inch diameter trunk. Height: 12 feet.
DO OVER?.. Yes.
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