Tilia henryana - Lime

Tilia henryana is a Chinese botanical species with modest development, much better suited to the size of our gardens than its European cousin. This small, original and elegant tree is distinguished by its late, fragrant and highly honey-bearing flowering, valuable in beekeeping. Its deciduous foliage is a changing adornment, formed by beautiful heart-shaped leaves, bordered by cilia, with a silver underside. Sporting a lovely pink-copper colour when budding, they turn a bright golden yellow at the end of the season. In winter, it reveals its smooth grey bark, which becomes fissured over time. Slow-growing, it prefers a sunny location, and cool, deep, and slightly calcareous soils.

Tilia henryana belongs to the Malvaceae family. It is native to central China. The growth of this small tree is very slow and its adult size will not exceed 12 to 15m (39 to 49ft) in height and 10m (33ft) in width.

When young, it has a rather pyramidal habit, then it widens to form a well-branched crown over an often quite short trunk: its branches show a rather ascending growth. Its entire, alternate leaves, 8 to 12cm (3 to 5in) in length, are heart-shaped at the base, and bordered by long and fine teeth. Pinkish-orange to coppery in spring, they turn a shiny green in summer on the upper side, showing a reddish-brown and silver velvety underside. In autumn, they turn to golden yellow and then dark red and remain attached to the branches for a long time. The flowering takes place in late summer, in August-September. Numerous small creamy-white flowers with lime green stamens gather in pendulous corymbs, 15 to 20 in number. They are attached by a long petiole to the branches. The remarkably fragrant flowers are popular with bees. They are followed by small globose fruits attached to a wing called samaras, which are initially green and then grey.

Tilia henryana can be planted in isolation or to shade an ericaceous bed. You can plant it with the Persian Ironwood or x Sycoparrotia, similar but with semi-evergreen foliage that turns golden yellow in autumn. Use it, for example, in an informal hedge, accompanied by Japanese maples, Caramel Tree, Hydrangea Hot Chocolate, and the Winged Spindle Tree (Euonymus alatus) to create a vibrant and fragrant grove from September to November. Its flowers are an important source of nectar, valuable for those who raise bees. A Japanese Medlar, flowering in October-November with a scent of bitter almond, can also play this nourishing role in a scented garden.