Tilia henryana Arnold Select - Lime

Tilia henryana 'Arnold Select' is a beautiful selection of Henry's lime tree, which stands out mainly for its more intensely pink-golden juvenile foliage and slightly faster growth. Compared to its European cousin, the moderate development of this tree is much better suited to garden size. This variety is also highly appreciated for its late, fragrant, and honey-bearing flowering, as well as for the beauty of its foliage. In winter, it reveals its grey, smooth, and then fissured bark. Give it a prime location, in the sun, in moist, deep, and slightly chalky soil.

Henry's lime tree belongs to the Malvaceae family and is native to the mountains of northeastern and central China. 'Arnold Select' is an American cultivar which is slightly more colourful than the typical variety. The growth of this deciduous small tree is slow, and its adult size will not exceed 12 to 15m (39 to 49ft) in height and 10m (33ft) in width. When regularly pruned close to the ground, it will not exceed 6 to 8 m (20 to 26ft) in height and will form numerous stems from the stump. 'Arnold Select' has a rather pyramidal shape when young, then it widens to form a well-branched crown atop a short trunk: its branches show an ascending development. Its large, entire, alternate leaves, 8 to 12cm (3 to 5in) in length, are heart-shaped at the base and have long, fine teeth along the edges. They are highly coloured with pink to coppery orange in spring, becoming shiny green on the upper side in summer, showing a reddish-brown and silvery downy underside. In autumn, they turn golden yellow and then dark red and remain attached to the branches for a long time. Flowering occurs in late summer, in August-September. Numerous creamy-white small flowers with lime green stamens gather in pendulous corymbs, 15 to 20 in number, attached to the branches by long petioles. They have a remarkable fragrance and are a delight for bees. They are followed by small globose fruits attached to a wing, the samara, which are initially green and then turn grey.

'Arnold Select' can be planted as a standalone tree or to shade an ericaceous bed. You can plant it with Persian ironwood or x Sycoparrotia, which is similar but has semi-evergreen foliage that turns golden yellow in autumn. Use it, for example, in a mixed hedge, alongside Japanese maples, a Smokebush, Hydrangea Hot Chocolate, and winged spindle to create a vibrant and fragrant grove from September to November. As it seems to tolerate some chalkiness, other combinations with Cotinus, Garrya elliptica, and small conifers can be planted. Its flowers are an important source of nectar, valuable for beekeepers. A Japanese medlar, flowering in October-November with a scent of bitter almond, will also play this nourishing role in a scented garden.