Tree Talk: Lovely lindens

Thanks to another grant from the N.D. Forest Service, the city of New Rockford is home to dozens of new trees. Participating homeowners planted seven different types of trees in June, and lindens were among the favorites.

American linden, also known as basswood, produces a soft wood that is used for furniture, boxes, tongue depressors and for carving things like duck decoys. This tree is native to the eastern United States, with the eastern third of North Dakota marking the western-most native range of the species. While cottonwood reigns as the largest-statured tree in North Dakota, lindens can grow to substantial size in preferred locations. Communities in the northeastern corner of the state (aka the Pembina Gorge and there-about) are home to very large lindens with trunk diameters of nearly three feet and heights up to 75 feet! That's a big tree for this prairie state – but it's all about placing the right tree in the right place, with special consideration for the type of soil at the planting site. Lindens sport fragrant creamy yellow flowers in mid-to-late June (they flowered later this year, with our cold spring) which are favored by bees, with great-tasting honey as a result of the bee visits. The flowers eventually form pea-sized "nutlets" which are eaten by birds and squirrels.

Lindens display a beautiful dark green leafy canopy which turns yellow in the fall. Individual leaves are heart-shaped with a serrated leaf edge. Other related smaller-statured species suitable for North Dakota include little-leaf linden (cultivar 'Greenspire') and Mongolian linden ('Harvest Gold'). American linden cultivars include 'Boulevard', 'Frontyard' and 'Redmond', some with a narrow canopy for smaller planting sites. Lindens are relatively pest-free and are a great choice for planting to increase tree species diversity in North Dakota communities.

See 'Recommended Trees for North Dakota Communities' on the ND Forest Service website: http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/ndfs.

Take a Look: See 'Redmond' linden trees planted this year as part of the 2022 grant project on the 1200 block of 3rd Ave North. A few of the largest lindens in New Rockford are on the 400 block of 2nd Ave North, where they tower above the street.

REMINDER: During hot weather - WATER your trees weekly, both young and old, with a slow trickle from a hose. Mulch any newly planted trees to retain soil moisture, suppress weed growth, and to keep mowers and trimmers away from tender bark on young trunks.