Linden – other names –

• heart-shaped linden,
• small-leaved linden,
• lubnyak,
• skier,
• washcloth.

Linden heart-shaped is a tree that can reach enormous sizes, and sometimes, in the wild, is found in the form of thickets or a huge bush. Its leaves are heart-shaped, light green above, bluish below. Linden flowers are small, yellowish-white, fragrant, collected in corymbose inflorescences with a large bract. The heart-shaped linden blooms in mid-summer - June-July.

When the linden blossoms, the aroma can be felt for several tens of meters, and if there are a lot of trees, then the entire space around is filled, causing a feeling of euphoria. The ancient Slavs considered the linden tree to be the tree of the goddess Lada (the patroness of the family hearth, love and beauty), and in Europe, believers consider the linden tree to be a sacred tree.

Small-leaved linden (heart-shaped) lives a long time, up to 300 years, and some trees live up to 1000 years. So, for example, in Kyiv, near the Orthodox Church of the Tithes, a linden tree whose age is close to 1000 years has been preserved.

Linden, in addition to its decorative properties, also has good medicinal properties. The healing properties of linden are due to a complex of biologically active substances. For medicinal purposes, linden blossom is most often used, less often – bark, buds, leaves, fruits (nuts), and charcoal.

Linden flowers are used in folk medicine as a strong diaphoretic, antipyretic, expectorant, diuretic, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory and analgesic. In folk medicine, linden blossom infusion is used for colds, headaches, fainting, for gargling with sore throats, for inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity, etc.

In the form of poultices and lotions, a decoction of linden inflorescences is used for burns, ulcers, inflammation of hemorrhoids, rheumatic and gouty pain in the joints.

Linden blossoms are harvested during flowering: inflorescences are collected with or without bracts. Dry in the shade, in a ventilated room; the readiness of the raw materials is determined by the fragility of the peduncles.

Linden bark (boiled)

produces a lot of mucus and is used in the treatment of burns.

Crushed fresh buds or fresh leaves are used as an emollient for burns, mastitis and other ailments.

When the linden tree fades, over time a nut up to 7 mm long ripens - the linden fruit. It is edible, nutritious and tastes like the familiar walnut. Ripe linden nuts, ground into powder, are used for nosebleeds - they make tampons.

In traditional medicine, linden blossom is used as a diaphoretic, diuretic, weak antispasmodic and secretolytic agent for febrile and (bronchial catarrh, inflammation of the pharynx), as well as for inflammation of the kidneys and bladder.

Infusion of linden flowers:

1 tbsp. pour a spoonful of crushed flowers into 1 cup of boiling water, leave for 40 minutes, strain. Take 1 glass 3-4 times a day hot for colds, bronchitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, headaches, coughs, bronchial catarrh. Externally, this decoction can be used as a gargle for sore throat and problems in the oral cavity.

Infusion of linden flowers (concentrated, steep):

Take a handful of linden flowers, pour 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 15-20 minutes, strain. Drink 3/4-1 glass of this hot infusion 2-3 times a day. The same infusion is also used for external use - wipe the face for oily skin, make lotions, poultices for ulcers, burns, hemorrhoids, gouty pain, joint pain due to rheumatism, inflammation of the periosteum.

Infusion of linden blossom with soda:

take 1 tbsp. Pour a spoonful of flowers into 1 cup of boiling water, leave for 20-25 minutes and add 5 g of baking soda. This is an excellent gargle for sore throat.

Lime tea:

1 tbsp. pour 1/2 liter of boiling water over a spoonful of dried crushed inflorescences and leave for 10-15 minutes. Sugar or honey can be added to taste.

Decoction of linden flowers:

take 3 tbsp. spoons of dried and crushed flowers, pour 3 glasses of water, boil for 10 minutes over low heat, then strain. Drink 2-3 glasses of hot broth at night with a short break, for rheumatism, flu and other colds.

Coal from linden wood

used for diarrhea, dysentery, belching with bad breath, burns, skin diseases, ulcers, rickets. Take 1 teaspoon in crushed form, 4 times a day with 1/2 glass of water. The same charcoal powder, diluted with goat's milk, is used in folk medicine for pulmonary tuberculosis (especially for people of blood groups 3 and 4).

For rheumatism, flu, acute respiratory infections and other colds, the following recipe is also used.

Infusion of linden blossom with viburnum:

linden (change flowers) – 1 table. spoon, red viburnum fruits - 1 table. spoon - pour 1/2 liter of boiling water, cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes, after it has cooled a little - strain. Drink the decoction at night (hot), 1-2 glasses (cups).

For chronic cough:

2 tbsp. Pour 2 cups of boiling water over spoons of crushed linden flowers, leave for 10 minutes, strain. Drink during the day.

For gastrointestinal cancer: 1 tbsp. spoon meas. pour linden seeds (nuts) with 1 cup of boiling water, simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Take 1/3 cup 3 times a day.

Linden tincture (liqueur):

take 5 handfuls (from both hands) of fresh linden inflorescences, put in a jar and fill with vodka (to cover the flowers, about 1.5 liters) and put in a dark place to infuse for 2 weeks. Then, drain the liquid, squeeze out the remainder and add syrup (1 kg of sugar, 1 bag of vanilla sugar and 0.5 liters of boiling water). Stir and bottle. They drink mainly in late autumn or winter - for colds, insomnia, bouts of blues, etc., little by little - 50-70 ml at a time.

If we talk about cordate linden in general, then we can’t help but talk about linden honey. Linden honey is considered the best among others for its medicinal and beneficial properties. It has a light yellow tint, sometimes greenish and a pleasant taste that is difficult to confuse with another.

Small-leaved linden, contraindications

It is not recommended to use infusions and decoctions of linden flowers for people with heart disease, or if they are prone to allergic reactions. With long-term use of linden preparations (infusions, decoctions, teas, etc.), for several months in a row or more, visual acuity may sharply decrease, insomnia, irritability may appear, blood pressure may increase, pain in the heart and other side effects...
Therefore, it is not recommended to drink even linden tea (where the concentration is significantly reduced) all the time! Linden tea is a medicinal tea, which means it should be consumed accordingly...

Latin name Tilia cordata Mill

Linden small-leaved Linden heart-shaped

Description

Small-leaved linden or cordate linden a large deciduous tree of the linden family, up to 30 m high.

The trunk is slender, the crown is wide. Young trees have olive or red-brown bark, while older trees have darker bark.

The leaves are alternate, without stipules, heart-shaped at the base, finely serrate along the edges, the blade is entire, glabrous on both sides.

The flowers are fragrant, pale yellow, collected in 3-15 semi-umbrellas. The flowers have membranous bracts.

The fruit is a single-seeded, spherical, tomentose-pubescent nut.

It blooms in late June-July, the fruits ripen in August-September.

Spreading

Small-leaved linden or Linden heart-shaped distributed in forest and forest-steppe zones of the European part of Russia, Crimea, the Caucasus, Southern Urals, and Western Siberia.

It grows under the canopy of oak forests and in coniferous forests.

Growing

Agricultural technology

Linden grows best in open sunny areas, although it can also grow in the shade. Prefers humus-rich, drained soils and does not tolerate waterlogging. This is a winter-hardy and fairly drought-resistant plant.

Reproduction

Propagates well by seeds. Freshly harvested seeds are sown before winter. First, 2-3 kg/m2 of rotted manure and 50-60 g/m2 of complex mineral fertilizers are added to the soil. Sow in furrows to a depth of 2-3 cm at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other. In the third or fourth year, the seedlings are planted in a permanent place.

Care

In the first years, seedlings develop slowly, so regular loosening, weeding and watering are necessary.

Small-leaved linden or cordate linden varieties

• Linden small-leaved greenspire greenspire
• Linden ranch
• Small-leaved linden green globe green globe
• Linden small-leaved winter orange

Chemical composition

Active ingredients

Linden flowers contain up to 0.1% essential oil, flavone glycoside hesperidin, saponins, mucus, carotene, tannins and phytoncides, ascorbic acid, sugars.

The leaves contain a lot of protein, vitamin C and carotene.

The fruits contain a lot of fatty oil (unrefined - up to 23%, in peeled - up to 58%).

Application

Linden is an excellent medicinal and honey plant. Linden honey is valued for its medicinal properties.

Energy impact. The energy of linden is strong, it can relieve depression, give peace and warmth. Energetically treats cardiovascular diseases.

Food use

Dried linden branches are used as a substitute for tea and for spring vitamin salad. Young buds are eaten fresh.

Use in landscape design

As an ornamental plant, linden decorates parks and alleys. Its original yellowish-white flowers are incredibly beautiful when in bloom. Decorative small-leaved linden with a dense crown and fragrant flowers. Decorative durability 50–60 years. Recommended for use as an alley and for creating separate groups.

Natural cosmetics

Pimples acne

Pour 2 tablespoons of linden blossom, fresh or dried, with 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 1 hour. Wash with infusion daily.

DULL HAIR

Pour 50 g of flowers into 1 liter of boiling water. Leave for 1 hour. Rinse hair after washing. The infusion gives hair shine and elasticity.

Medicinal use

Infusions and decoctions are made from linden flowers (“linden blossom”) in medicine. They are used as a diaphoretic, diuretic and bactericidal agent for colds, as well as for gargling. A paste of brewed flowers is an emollient for poultices. Linden charcoal is used for flatulence and diarrhea.

Collection and processing of medicinal raw materials

For medicinal purposes, linden inflorescences (linden blossom) are used, which are collected in the middle of flowering, when most of the flowers have bloomed. At a later date, the raw material loses its medicinal properties.

In good weather, the collection lasts 10 days, in cool weather - 15. In order not to damage the trees, you must use a ladder and a lopper. Small branches with abundant flowers can be cut with pruning shears.

The raw materials are dried immediately after collection under a canopy, in a ventilated room, in the attic or in a dryer at a temperature of 40...50°C, spread in a layer of 3-5 cm. Readiness is determined by the fragility of the peduncles. Linden cannot be dried in the sun. The smell of the finished raw material is aromatic, the taste is sweetish, slightly astringent.

It is stored in a wooden container for 2 years.

Application in official and folk medicine

The leaves have phytoncidal activity, are used to prepare a vitamin drink, and are a good antiscorbutic agent.

An infusion of flowers has a calming effect on the nervous system, moderately reduces blood viscosity, increases the secretion of urine, bile and gastric contents, and has diaphoretic, expectorant and antimicrobial properties. It is taken for colds, coughs, as an auxiliary diaphoretic for influenza and acute bronchitis, as well as for kidney diseases and childhood infections.

Linden preparations have a sedative, diuretic, diaphoretic, antipyretic, expectorant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, emollient effect.

Linden blossom is used to rinse the mouth and pharynx for inflammatory diseases and sore throats, alternating the infusion with antiseptic agents - table salt, propolis, etc. Unstrained infusion with steamed raw materials is prescribed for inflammation of hemorrhoids, breastfeeding, ulcers, rheumatism, gout, burns. For the same purposes, young fresh leaves or buds are used. It is recommended to wash your face with an infusion of linden blossom in a ratio of 1:20 to give the skin elasticity.
To prepare the infusion, pour 3 tablespoons of raw material into 1 cup of boiling water, heat over low heat for 15 minutes, cool at room temperature for 45 minutes and filter. Take 1-2 glasses hot 2-3 times a day after meals.

Pharmacies sell linden flowers in briquettes, divided into slices. One slice is poured with 1 glass of hot water, boiled for 10 minutes and filtered. Take 1-2 glasses at night, hot.

Recipes for various diseases

SOLISH, COLD, TRACHEITIS, PULMONARY

Pour 1.5 tablespoons of linden flowers with 1 cup of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes, strain. Take 1-2 glasses at night. This infusion can also be used for rinsing.
Pour 3 tablespoons of dried linden inflorescences with 1 cup of boiling water, heat in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, stirring. Cool, strain, add boiled water to a full glass. Take hot, 1/2 cup 3 times a day.
Brew 1 tablespoon of dried linden inflorescences with 1 cup of boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes, strain. It has a diaphoretic, antipyretic, expectorant and anti-inflammatory effect. Take 2-3 glasses hot at night.
Take equal parts of linden flowers and raspberry fruits. Pour 2 tablespoons of the mixture with 1 cup of boiling water. Boil for 5 minutes. Drink hot.
Take linden and black elderberry flowers in equal parts and mix. Pour 2 tablespoons of the mixture with 1 cup of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, strain. Drink the entire broth hot at once.
Take peppermint leaves, black elderberry flowers and linden flowers in equal parts and mix. Pour 1 tablespoon of this mixture into 2 glasses of hot water and boil for 8-10 minutes, then strain. Drink the decoction hot.
Take equal parts of linden blossom and peppermint leaves. Pour 1 tablespoon of the mixture with 1 cup of boiling water. Take 2-3 glasses a day hot.

To prepare the infusion, pour 1 tablespoon of linden flowers into 1 glass of boiling water. Take 1/2 cup 2-3 times a day.
Prepare a mixture of linden flowers, black elderberry and chamomile, taken in equal parts. Brew 1 tablespoon of the mixture in 1 cup of boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes. Leave for 15-20 minutes, strain. Take hot, 1-2 glasses 2-3 times a day.

BRONCHIAL ASTHMA

Take 400 g of linden honey and aloe leaves, 25 g of linden inflorescences, birch buds, pine buds. Mix all ingredients and add 2 glasses of water. Boil for 15 minutes from the moment of boiling over low heat. Remove from heat and let sit for at least 8 hours. Add 0.5 liters of cognac. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day 30 minutes before meals.
Take 300 g of linden honey, 25 g of linden inflorescences; 0.5 cups of water and crushed aloe leaves. Cook over low heat for 2 hours. Take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day.

UROLITHIASIS DISEASE

Pour 2 tablespoons of linden blossom into 2 cups of hot water and boil for 10 minutes. Drink 2 glasses at night. Helps with pain in the urethra and sand in the urine.

LACK OF LACTATION

Brew 1 tablespoon of dry linden leaves or buds
1 cup boiling water. Leave, wrapped, for 30 minutes. Take 1 glass 3 times a day before meals.

OBESITY

Grind dried linden flowers in a coffee grinder into powder. Take 1 teaspoon of powder 3 times a day. There is a weight loss of up to 5-6 kg per month.

PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS

In folk medicine, it is believed that charcoal from linden wood, crushed and mixed with goat's milk, is good for treating pulmonary tuberculosis. Take this mixture 1 teaspoon 3 times a day.
Take 50 g of linden blossom, 1.2 kg of linden honey, 150 g of birch buds, 100 g of aloe leaves, 1 glass of olive oil,
2 glasses of water. Melt honey in a saucepan and add chopped aloe leaves. Boil the mixture well. Separately in
Brew linden blossom and birch buds in 2 glasses of water. Boil for 1-2 minutes. After the honey has cooled, squeeze the juice from the birch buds and linden blossoms and mix it with honey. Pour the mixture into bottles, add equal amounts of oil to each. Shake well before use. Take 3 times a day, 1 tablespoon.

PHARYNGITIS

Pour 1 tablespoon of linden flowers with 1 cup of boiling water. Boil over low heat for 5 minutes. Leave for 15-20 minutes, strain. Take 1/2 cup 2-
3 times a day as an antipyretic, gargle with the same infusion.

Peptic Ulcer of the Stomach and Duodenum

Take 40 g of linden flowers, 30 g of fennel fruit and chamomile flowers. Take the decoction 1/2-3/4 cup 2-3 times a day before meals.
Take 20 g of linden blossom and fireweed leaves, 10 g of chamomile flowers and fennel fruits. Pour 2 teaspoons of the mixture with 1 cup of boiling water. Leave, covered, for 15-20 minutes, strain. Take 1 to 3 glasses throughout the day.

Brew 1 tablespoon of crushed flowers with 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 20 minutes, strain. You can add 1 teaspoon of soda to the finished infusion. Gargle with hot infusion 4 times a day.
INSOMNIA, NERVOUS TENSION, STRESS
Take a bath with linden blossom. Pour 100 g of linden flowers into 2 liters of cold water, let it brew for 5-10 minutes. Then put on fire, boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat and leave for another 10 minutes. Strain the broth and add to the bath. Take once a week for up to 20 minutes. The water temperature in the bath should not be higher than 37°C. Before taking a bath, wash your body with soap; after taking a bath, do not rinse.

HAEMORRHOIDS

Pour 3-4 tablespoons of linden leaves with 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 15-20 minutes without straining. Wrap the steamed raw material in gauze folded in 3-4 layers and apply it to the anal area before going to bed, covering it with plastic wrap. Keep the poultice for at least 1 hour.

HEADACHE

Apply fresh young linden leaves to your forehead.

LARYNGITIS

Pour 15 g of linden blossom with 1 cup of boiling water, leave for 20-30 minutes, strain. Use hot infusion for inhalation.

Pour 3 tablespoons of dried linden inflorescences with 1 cup of boiling water, heat in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes, stirring. Cool, strain, add boiled water to a full glass. Apply lotions 3-4 times a day.
Pour 3-4 tablespoons of linden flowers with 2 glasses of water and boil for 15 minutes. Then cool to body temperature, strain and add 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to the broth. Use as compresses and for rinsing.
For compresses, you can use fresh steamed linden buds.

UROLITHIASIS DISEASE

Steam with a broom of linden leaves.
Pour boiling water over 4 tablespoons of linden leaves, wrap in gauze and apply a compress to the back - to the area where the buds are located.

GOUT, JOINT PAIN

Make lotions and compresses on the joints from multi-layer gauze moistened with linden blossom infusion.
Boil linden leaves with boiling water, apply hot to the joints, cover with parchment or film, and wrap. Keep the compress for 1-2 hours.
For gout and rheumatic inflammation, apply pads filled with a mixture of linden and chamomile flowers, taken in equal parts, to the sore spots. Lightly moisten the mixture of flowers with boiling water, then heat it strongly over the fire in a saucepan and, filling a bag with them (flowers), apply it to the sore spot.

COLD

Pour about 100 g of linden blossom into a large enamel pan, pour in 3-4 liters of boiling water and put on fire. As soon as it begins to boil, reduce the heat to low. Simmer over low heat with the lid tightly closed for 30 minutes. After this, remove the pan from the heat and cool the broth without opening the lid until it cools. Behind-
then squeeze out the herbal mass through a colander. Strain the solution through cheesecloth. The broth can be stored in a cool, dark place for no more than two days. Use to generate steam in a sauna (pour onto hot stones). After leaving the steam room, drink linden tea.

WOUNDS, ULCERS, BURNS

Take young fresh leaves or buds of linden, pour boiling water over them, wrap them in gauze folded 3-4 times and use them in the form of poultices and compresses.

STOMATITIS, GINGIVITIS

Pour 1 tablespoon of linden flowers with 1 glass of boiling water, leave for 20-30 minutes, strain. Rinse your mouth with hot infusion.

In Europe, as well as in the regions of East Asia, such a persistent and productive tree species as small-leaved linden is widespread. It is quite often used for alleys and various parks, as well as in deciduous and mixed forests. The tree itself grows up to 20 - 30 m in height, the crowns reach 19 m in diameter. It is quite durable, can live up to 600 years, while possessing an unusual dense crown. It grows quite quickly and its growth per year reaches 1.5 m in height, as well as up to 40 cm in width.

In principle, by the age of eight it can grow up to five meters, and by thirty it is a fully grown tree. It is very resistant to wind and drought, as it has a good root system. Over the course of six years, she has been building up the core central root element, which goes quite well underground in about the same way as its upper part. In adulthood, it becomes highly branched and shades the entire ground beneath it.

Description and characteristics

The main feature is its endurance to external influences. It does not require much lighting and can easily withstand windy weather and frosts down to minus forty degrees. Can be grown on various soils, except those where nearby groundwater is located.

Another advantage is its decorative nature. Its design is ideal - the trunk is very even, the crown is very thick and dense, easily withstands pruning, blooms excellently and emits an unsurpassed aroma. It is the most common of all types that are necessary for the formation of parks, alleys, as well as for the cultivation of shaded areas and for other purposes in landscape design.

And also one of the advantages is that it serves as an excellent honey plant. Bees are very well lured by its aroma and the honey obtained from its inflorescences has very high qualities and healing properties.

And its most useful characteristic is its medicinal qualities. You can tell its color for making tea. Not only its color, but also its roots, buds, and charcoal from it have medicinal properties. All its components can have antipyretic, diuretic, diaphoretic effective medications and are needed for colds and other inflammatory diseases.

Main varieties and their detailed descriptions

At the moment, many varieties of this plant have already been bred and they all have an excellent crown, which itself forms it. All of them are not afraid of the effects of wind, are excellent honey plants and feel good in the city. Here are the main varieties of small-leaved linden:

For hedges The following varieties of small-leaved linden are very often used:

1. Greenspice is a resistant linden variety.
2. Pallida is a variety from Europe.
3. Orebro is a large-leaved variety.

Linden trees for hedges are all cut in one row, forming an ideal crown for them. Due to the fact that they are thick and dense, they easily create the effect of a green fence that is impossible to get through.

Methods of propagation of small-leaved linden

Linden can also reproduce in a variety of ways, like other plants, namely:

Planting small-leaved linden

To plant this plant, we perform several steps:

1. Prepare a hole for planting up to one and a half meters in diameter and the same, or even more, depth.
2. For alleys, the distance between planting trees must be maintained at three or four meters, and for hedges - two.
3. Place about 15 cm of pebbles, crushed stone or broken brick on the bottom.
4. About 10 cm of compost is poured on top, adding up to 55 g of superphosphate.
5. Place it in a hole so that the neck of the root is level with the earth's surface.
6. Fill the mixture with turf, humus, and sand in a ratio of 1: 2: 2.
7. Water well.

Caring for small-leaved linden

For complete care, the following conditions must be met:

Pests and diseases of small-leaved linden

Possible pests and diseases:

To combat these listed pests and diseases, all kinds of insecticides, actelliks, and acaricides are used, and to combat aphids, you can use a soap solution.

Small-leaved linden is the most common type of linden in Europe and East Asia. It can often be found not only in artificial plantings, city alleys and parks, but also in natural forests - pure linden trees or together with other deciduous and coniferous trees.

The tree is tall, reaching a height of 20 and sometimes 30 meters, with a crown diameter of 15 - 19 m. The crown is dense, casting a dense shadow. It grows quickly, the annual growth can be up to half a meter in height and slightly less (up to 40cm) in crown diameter. At this rate, by 7–8 years the linden tree can reach a height of 5 m, and by 30 years it is already an adult tree, and the growth rate begins to gradually decrease. A tree lives up to 500–600 years.

High resistance to winds and drought is largely due to the structure of the root system - it is taprooted in linden. Up to 6 years, the tree grows a main central root, which goes to a depth equal to or slightly less than the height of the above-ground part of the plant. At an older age, the root system becomes more branched, grows strongly on the sides, occupying almost the entire earthen ball under the crown.

Advantages of small-leaved linden

The main reason for the popularity of small-leaved linden is its hardiness. It does not require lighting, easily tolerates strong winds, frosts down to -40 degrees Celsius, as well as the lack of regular watering (except in the driest years), and air pollution. This tree is capable of growing on almost any soil, except those that are too oily and heavy. For him, the main thing is that the layer of underground water does not lie too high.

The second reason for the demand for this tree is decorativeness. Its trunk is always straight, the crown is dense and tolerates shearing well, and at the time of flowering, which occurs in the middle of summer, it is densely covered with golden inflorescences and exudes a wonderful aroma.

As a result, linden has become one of the most common trees for forming city alleys and creating shady recreation areas. It looks good in any landscape, which is why designers love it.

Third factor: linden is an excellent honey plant. It attracts bees with a strong aroma; its inflorescences produce honey of the highest quality, with excellent viscosity, taste, aroma, color, transparency, and excellent healing properties.

And the last, but no less significant feature of the small-leaved linden is its medicinal properties. In medicine, and not only folk medicine, linden blossom tea is highly valued. At the same time, almost all parts of this tree have medicinal properties: flowers, bark, leaves, buds and even charcoal from the wood. All these drugs are antipyretic, diaphoretic and diuretic. They are used for local treatment of various inflammations of the mouth and throat, for colds, stomatitis and some other diseases.

How to plant a linden tree on your property?

So, the first question that may arise in your mind is where to get a linden seedling? To answer this, let’s figure out how this tree reproduces, in several ways:

1. Seeds are the natural way in which linden in nature populates fairly large areas. However, to grow a linden tree from seeds at home, you need to be patient: the seed will turn into a young tree no sooner than after 8-10 years. If you are happy with this, the procedure is as follows:

Buy or collect ripe seeds from the tree.

Linden seeds undergo a stratification process for 2-3 months, for this they are poured into a container with wet sand or sawdust at the rate of 1/2 of the seeds per 3 parts of the substrate, covered with a breathable lid and placed in a refrigerator or room with a temperature within +1-5 degrees. If they do not germinate 15 days before sowing, the air temperature is increased to +25-30 degrees, while the seeds are constantly mixed and moistened.

Seeds are sown in spring, scattered or spread on the surface of moist soil. Their germination rate is quite low - in nature, many linden seeds germinate in the second or third spring.

Young seedlings should be regularly watered and cleared of weeds, and covered for the winter.

1. Basal shoots - for planting, you can use young trees that grow from the root of an adult linden tree. They can very often be found near a tree, especially if it does not have enough light. Such shoots can be easily dug up in damp weather (on wet soil) and planted in the same way as a purchased seedling. Don't worry if the root system is slightly damaged - this is not a problem for linden. True, care should still be taken, because the more intact the root, the easier the tree will tolerate replanting and the faster it will begin to grow.
2. Layering - this method is suitable if a particular linden tree has won your heart. In this case, in early spring, before the buds appear, a shallow depression is dug in its trunk circle and fixed in it, and then one of the young lower branches is covered with soil so that its tip sticks out of the ground vertically.

In summer, in dry weather, the cuttings should be watered, and next spring, or after 2 years, it will be possible to separate them from the mother plant and plant them in a permanent place. With this method of propagation, the seedling will retain all the characteristics of the parent tree.

1. Linden propagates very poorly by cuttings, and although grafting is possible, it is not advisable to use such a labor-intensive method for an unpretentious tree.

How to plant a linden seedling?

Prepare a planting hole measuring 50x50x50 cm.

When planting an alley, place trees no closer than 3 - 4 m from each other, and for a hedge - about 2 m.

Place approximately 15 cm of pebbles, crushed stone or broken bricks at the bottom of the planting hole.

Add a layer of compost about 10 cm on top, add 55 grams of superphosphate

Place the seedling in the hole so that its root collar is flush with the ground surface.

Fill the resulting cavities with a mixture of turf, humus and sand, prepared in a ratio of 1:2:2.

Water the seedling generously.

How to care for a young linden tree?

Water the seedling regularly, using approximately 1 bucket of water per tree every week

At least 2–3 times a year, loosen the tree trunk circle to a depth of about 10 cm, simultaneously removing weeds.

Apply fertilizers – complex or nitrogen – twice a season. An infusion of mullein (1 kg per 10 liters of water) with the addition of 17 g of urea and 25 g of ammonium nitrate is suitable.

For the winter, mulch the tree trunk circle with peat, sawdust, bark or fallen linden leaves, with a layer of 10 cm. Own foliage can be used only if the tree has not been sick this season and has not been attacked by pests.

In the first winter, it is advisable to build a shelter for the seedling - a poorly rooted plant is more susceptible to freezing.

How to care for an adult linden tree

Water only in case of prolonged drought, at the rate of 25 - 30 liters per 1 m2 under the crown.

Feeding and loosening the tree trunk circle remain desirable, but they are no longer as important as in the early years. Shelter for the winter is not required.

In the spring, before the buds open, starting from the 2nd year, the crown is trimmed - not only sanitary, with the removal of damaged branches, but also shaping. Cut off no more than a third of the length of healthy branches.

Also in the spring, preventive treatment against pests and diseases, primarily fungal, is desirable. The delicate leaves of linden are not very resistant to diseases, and insects settle in them quite often.

Diseases and pests of small-leaved linden

Pests: aphids (sticky coating on leaves), leaf-eating insects, scale insects, lilac hawkmoth, pyramidal cutworm, tubeworm beetle, leaf roller, moth, nun silkworm.

Diseases: galls (gall mite, leaves covered with red thorns), sooty fungus, white rot, holey and black leaf spot.

Control measures: insecticides, acaricides, actellik, etc. Against aphids - treatment with a soap solution.

Linden no longer plays the role in our everyday life that it had in the recent past. Sponges and bags are now made of plastic, shoes are made of artificial leather, spoons and ladles are made of stainless steel.

Soft, fine-grained linden wood is easy to cut and polish. Where linden grew in abundance, it found the widest use in households. They made simple peasant furniture from linden, sharpened simple dishes and barrels for bulk products, made children's toys, and made boxes, chests, and drawers. Now everything is made from other materials.

If wood has not lost its position in anything, it is in the manufacture of various chiseled souvenirs - nesting dolls, wooden sculptures, painted dishes, etc. And what can never be taken away from the linden tree is its honey-bearing qualities. Where the linden tree is, God himself ordered an apiary to be built.

“Not every bast fits the line...”

Bast is a separate strip of the inner layer of bark (bast) of a tree. Bast can be obtained from elm, willow, and oak. But the best quality is considered to be linden bast. Bast was harvested (pulled) from young trees whose trunk diameter did not exceed 15 cm. When choosing a tree, we made sure that its bark was smooth, not cracked, and dark olive in color. In order for the bast to separate from the outer layer of bark, it was first soaked. After soaking, the bast was torn off and dissolved into separate strips - “basts”.

The linden bast was used for a variety of household needs. Mattings and bast shoes were woven from the coarsest bast. Bast obtained from the youngest trees, if additionally soaked into thin threads, is suitable for weaving ropes and even coarse woven material, like burlap, - sackcloth.

Once we hired a worker for temporary work in our nursery. He was on the stock exchange, received a small allowance, and the additional income was very useful to him. Our work is simple and not physically difficult. Payment is hourly, with payment at the end of the day - worked seven hours - get seven hundred rubles. He worked for a day, we liked him - he is not lazy, he is not cunning. And he, apparently, also liked the work. Real money, and immediately - what's wrong?!

The next day he appeared again. We shake hands - and he reeks of fumes. So, I celebrated yesterday. Well, okay, I think, whoever happens to him, he looks quite cheerful. Should I worry? If he works for an hour, he will sober up. It actually worked fine at first. But then I went to the toilet and a “different” person came out - not just completely drunk, but no longer sober. Apparently he had “fanfurik” in his pocket, from which he took a sip. His wife was the first to notice the change in him: “Look, he’s bast doesn't knit! It will soon come to a point - what a worker he is!” And indeed, it began to be carried away literally before our eyes. At first it began to “skid” slightly when turning. His movements lost precision. First, he stepped on a plastic box with seedlings and crushed it. Then he completely stumbled and fell with his hands into the greenhouse, damaging several plants. In general, such work threatened to bring ruin instead of benefit.

My head is built in a “wonderful” way. There was something in her that stuck with the phrase “bast doesn’t knit” and of course it began to unwind: “Laka doesn’t knit, which means he’s so drunk that his legs can’t walk and his tongue gets stuck.” So much so that he cannot do the simplest job - tying strips of bast with a simple knot into bundles. At home I began to find out the origins of Russian proverbs and phraseological units, in which the linden tree is mentioned in one way or another. It turned out that there were a good dozen of them.

In the “technological chain” of bast processing, the simplest operation was considered to be tying the bast into bundles. It was entrusted to the most inexperienced and inept workers. Therefore, the inability to “knit a bast” began to mean extreme sluggishness. And a Russian man could only be like this when he was very drunk.

Not sewn with bast, not girded with bast. The poor population in Rus' did not have the opportunity to purchase real fabrics, and often used various homespun surrogates. Based on this, both of these proverbs meant, they say, “we are not among the poorest and most backward.” In verbal usage, mirror images of these sayings were also used - “shit with a bast” and “belted with a bast,” that is, extremely poor, from a backward, poor outback.

Not every bast fits the line. Most often, matting and bast shoes were woven from bast. Mattings had a wide variety of economic uses. Matting bags, for example, were used not only for potatoes, but also for many bulk materials and products. Therefore, the need for matting was very high. Artels were engaged in weaving matting. Of course, this work required, if not skill, then a certain dexterity - the transverse strips had to be quickly threaded into the appropriate places. And the shuttle did not always end up where it needed to - in the right “line”. This, however, was not considered a great sin. The proverb, in essence, means that one should not condemn someone because of one mistake - “not every bastard is in line” - “even an old woman can make a mistake.”

Linden, fake seal, fake documents. Fine-grained linden wood allows you to cut very fine crafts from it, including printed clichés. This is what swindlers often took advantage of. A fake seal means it's fake.

Linden wood is fragile, so it cannot be used to make any important parts for equipment. Therefore, the words “fake” and “unreliable” were popularly perceived as synonyms.

The matting is great, but it’s not worth wearing. Usually they said this about something accessible, but of poor quality, for which there is no use. From matting you can make not only bast shoes, but even coarse clothing. But such “clothing” in the eyes of others looked extremely unpresentable and not prestigious.

Loofah 1959

It was the spring of 1959. My father had just retired from the army and was building a house in Vladimir. My sisters and I were assigned to stay with our grandfather in the village during construction. We lived in his small hut, built according to the classic Russian layout: in the very center there was a stove-bed, and everything else was around it. We whiled away the long winter evenings on this stove, playing simple card games: “The Drunkard” and “The Fool.” This year, on the one hand, flew by unnoticed, and on the other hand, it was so filled with impressions that all the years that have passed since then feed me with bright memories.

Grandfather is 73, I’ll soon be 7 - my last summer of freedom. But we lived with him in perfect harmony, and water did not spill. Let's go to the bathhouse together. He's working in the garden - and I'm hanging around. He goes into the forest - and I am with him. I feel good with him, my grandfather for me is just like Arina Rodionovna, only masculine. He always says something interesting. All sayings and jokes. Let's go into the forest - he teaches me how to navigate in the forest. Let’s just get away from the village, he asks, “Well, which way is the house?” I'll strain my brains and show with my hand:

Eh, no - there!

I’m surprised, - Well, how is it there! After all, we didn’t turn anywhere, so the house must be behind us.

It seems that it seems, but the path, albeit imperceptibly, has turned.

Grandfather, how do you find out where home is?

Well, first of all, every bush here is familiar to me. And secondly, I navigate by the sun. When we entered the forest, it was in front, which means we have to go back so that it shines oppositely from behind. Of course, taking into account that it is moving.

We both loved going to the forest the most. Actually, there was no need to go anywhere; it started right behind the picket fence. Mixed Russian forest for many kilometers in all directions. Open the gate at the back - and you are in the forest. Chanterelles grew five meters from the fence. And white ones sometimes grew in the garden itself!

Grandfather was a real forest worker. He knew and understood the forest. He loved the forest, felt it. The forest gave him, if not everything, then a lot, including psychotherapy: it fed him, supplied him with firewood and building material. Grandfather never went into the forest just like that. Always for some reason. And he never returned from the forest empty-handed, he would grab something. Either an aspen pole for a picket fence, or hazel sticks for peas. Even if it’s a rotten deck, he’ll bring it. Rotten boxes, let me explain, he needed them to fumigate the bees.

My grandfather didn’t teach me - he didn’t sit me at a desk, he didn’t put me in a corner for disobedience, he didn’t lecture me. He didn't force me to do anything at all. He only did his household chores - he lit the stove, cooked cabbage soup, planed, sawed, looked after the bees... And I was with him and saw all this. Sometimes I wanted to do something myself - my grandfather did not interfere with this, but only gave advice. Since his advice was always to the point, I somehow immediately got used to taking them seriously.

That's not how you hold an ax! And spread your legs, otherwise you’ll kick your own shins. You could lose your leg this way!

I'll give you the string. But spruce is not suitable for onions. You need hazel or willow.

But spruce is suitable for a staff, you just need to peel off the bark from it. But it’s better to make it from juniper.

So unobtrusively, he instilled in me the most important thing - the desire for amateur creativity and curiosity. And as a by-product, it instilled in my soul an attachment to the forest - to its inhabitants, its sounds, its smells.

Most often we went mushroom hunting with him. Mushrooms were an essential component of our cuisine. But, like most of the Saryevo (Saryevo station) aborigines, my grandfather did not take just anything. His top five favorite mushrooms looked like this. In first place are salted milk mushrooms, of which he prepared a whole tub. By milk mushroom we meant only real white milk mushroom, they didn’t take others there. And the black one was generally considered inedible. Milk mushrooms were served on the table almost every day - sometimes with fried potatoes, or even “just like that” - with onions and vegetable oil - under black bread. Naturally, the porcini mushroom was also held in high esteem. His grandfather dried it in a Russian oven, and then all winter we ate excellent-tasting mushroom soup from time to time. I liked to eat dried porcini mushrooms on their own - my grandfather did not encourage this, but did not hinder it either. “For the fry,” my grandfather preferred to collect a limited number of mushrooms. For example, he practically did not take boletus mushrooms. Perhaps in a completely non-mushroom year. And those are the strongest ones - “chelyshiki”. Perhaps his favorite “roast” was chanterelles, and certainly with sour cream. In addition, he loved fried saffron milk caps. And he never passed by young boletuses. And in the spring he never missed an opportunity to pick morels.

On that memorable May day, we just went to pick up morels, the dumping of which was reported to our grandfather by our neighbor Klipov. On the way back, we deviated from the usual path and went into a thick linden forest, where the grandfather, using a garden knife, tore off a piece of bark from a young linden tree - a meter-long tube. Then, when we passed by a ditch filled with melt water, my grandfather used a stone to drown a linden bark in it. Two weeks later we came there again. And right before my eyes, my grandfather easily separated the bast from the bark and, with the help of simple manipulations, turned it into a real washcloth. With this washcloth, we then went with him to the station bathhouse all summer and rubbed each other’s backs. Now I have a plastic washcloth at home. In general, there are no complaints about her. And yet, plastic is an inanimate material, I sometimes think. And it seems that washcloth made from natural linden is more beneficial for human skin. Perhaps some useful substances “diffuse” from it into the skin, because linden, after all, also has medicinal properties.

Just so you know

According to current botanical views, linden (Tilia) classified as a member of the malvaceae family, but until recently it was classified as a separate linden family. This emphasized the importance of this tree in the everyday life of Europeans.

About 30 species of linden grow on Earth - all in the northern hemisphere, and mainly in Eurasia. The most common is small-leaved linden, also known as heart-shaped(Tilia cordata). This tree could rightfully be called Russian, since its range lies almost entirely within Russia. Small-leaved linden is the most frost-resistant of lindens; it can withstand almost 50-degree frosts without damage.

Now the existence of the linden tree is not threatened. Meanwhile, scientists have reliably established that linden forests once occupied a much larger area. Fossilized remains of linden are found in abundance, for example, throughout Northern Asia up to Chukotka and parts of the Arctic islands. Paleontologists have proven that linden appeared on Earth tens of millions of years ago, at the end of the era of dinosaurs. Consequently, the linden tree successfully survived many natural disasters - including several global cold snaps and glaciations.

honey tree

No matter how skilled the beekeeper may be, if the area is not rich in honey plants, there is nothing to even dream of a good honey harvest. And in all of Russia there is no better honey plant than linden. Where this tree grows in abundance, beekeepers do not know grief. It is the linden forests, and even its hilly topography, that Bashkir honey owes its all-Russian fame. Why relief? - ask. - Because the linden forests of Bashkiria are often located on the mountainous landscape of the Ural foothills. And if on the plain the linden blossom lasts about two weeks, then in “mountain” conditions it is much longer - since on the southern slopes the tree blooms a little earlier than usual, and on the northern slopes, on the contrary, later. The honey productivity of small-leaved linden under favorable conditions can reach 1000 kg per hectare. And linden honey itself is considered one of the most healing.

The linden tree and the bee seem to be specially created for each other. The flowers of the tree release nectar abundantly and provide bees with material for building honeycombs. And the aroma of linden flowers is most accurately described by the epithet - honey. It should be said that linden blooms most profusely when standing fairly freely. And in continuous forest stands, trees only bear flowers on the top. Therefore, if you want to plant a linden tree in your apiary, place the trees no closer than 7-8 m from each other.

A linden flower is the wisest creation of nature, created by a bee for its own benefit, but for the mutual benefit of both the tree and the insect. Let me explain what caused this statement. You all remember that the linden inflorescence consists of several (4-13 pieces) ray-shaped flowers, and a narrow stipule characteristic of linden. So, I undertake to assert that this very leaf did not grow by itself, but with the direct participation of a bee.

Initially, the stipule had slightly different dimensions and was not as convenient from the bee’s point of view. But when the bees began to use it as a kind of flight board, the leaf gradually began to change towards greater convenience for the bee. How did this happen? And it’s very simple, a bee not only collects nectar from a flower, but pollinates it along the way. And the more convenient it is for her, the more successful is pollination, and therefore fruit set. Thus, the bee, without knowing it, carried out the selection of the linden tree in the direction it needed.

The stipule has another function - it is a kind of screw, with the help of which the fruits, like mini-helicopters, glide to the ground. Typically, mass separation of fruits from the tree occurs at the end of winter. They fall on the snow, and the wind drives them along the crust far, far from the mother tree. So, thanks to this “sail”, the linden tree spreads.

The sticky tree has grown big and big

Although linden wood is fragile, the tree itself is quite durable. Not oak, of course, but after oak in one of the first places. In any case, 100 years is not an old age for a linden tree. Dendrologists say that linden can live for 300 years. If you're lucky, it'll be 500. And this, you see, is a very serious age. The most durable of the lindens is the large-leaved linden, growing in the center of Europe. (Tilia platyphyllos). Its age can reach 1000 years! By the way, it is also the largest of the linden trees.

Linden is both sun-loving and shade-tolerant. When young it tolerates heavy shade. But the tree grows truly powerful and spreading only in open areas. In the Vladimir region, linden rarely forms homogeneous tracts. Most often it grows together with maple, oak, and spruce. Linden does not like dryness, so it prefers moderately moist loams; it does not settle on sandy soils. In floodplain forests, the tree tolerates short-term spring flooding.

Landing place. The soil. Ideally, the soil should be medium loamy, rich in organic matter. If the bedrock soil is composed of sand, it is advisable to dig a hole under the tree with a depth and a diameter of about a meter. The soil substrate is prepared on the basis of medium loamy soil: loam and humus 2:1. It is best to plant bare-rooted linden trees after leaf fall - from mid-October and throughout November. If autumn is rainy, you can do this in September. Linden tolerates replanting well, but when digging up a seedling, it is important not to cause severe damage to the root system.

Care. Fertilizer. Watering. If the soil and planting site are chosen correctly, the linden tree will grow well without any care. But at first it is still advisable to help the tree. Linden does not like strong compaction of the soil, so it is recommended to keep the tree trunk in a weed-free, loose state. When planting, to retain precipitation, it makes sense to form a funnel-shaped depression around the trunk. It is useful to mulch the tree trunk from time to time with various organic materials: manure and leaf humus, peat compost, etc. The mulch layer is 5-7 cm, it is better to replenish it in the fall, and in the spring gradually embed it into the lower horizons of the soil. If there is no rain for a long time, watering once a week is recommended. If possible, water a little, but more often.

Formation. A haircut. Linden is one of the most pliable tree species to trim. If at a young age a linden is cut at a low height - “planted on a stump” - then later it grows not as a tree with one trunk, but with many trunks, turning into a tall, spreading shrub. A tree planted on a stump can be shaped into various simple geometric bodies - hemispheres, cubes, parallelepipeds, etc. And if linden seedlings are planted often enough - 60-100 (up to 150) cm from each other, and when the trees reach a height of 1.5-2 m, they are planted on a stump, then high (3 m and above) walls can be formed from them. With such walls they divide the space into separate isolated areas - bosquets, which radically transform the landscape. This is one of the most ceremonial park receptions. Bosquets made of linden decorate the territories of many world-famous parks in France and Russia (for example, Peterhof). However, in order for linden walls to look impeccable, they must be cut frequently (at least 5 times per season).

In urban landscaping, linden crowns are traditionally formed on a single trunk - a trunk. To do this, the side shoots are cut out to a height of 2-4 m, and the crown is formed into a ball with a diameter of 3-5 m by pruning and shearing.

Reproduction. Linden can be propagated both by seed and vegetatively. The easiest way to propagate a tree is by shoots, which it often produces in abundance. It is not difficult to propagate by cuttings - both winter (that is, lignified) and summer (green). In the forest you can often observe how linden shoots pressed to the ground give roots - and this is nothing more than spontaneous layering.

Linden can also be propagated by sowing seeds. They are collected from late autumn and stored in the snow until spring. The specificity of seed propagation is that even with such natural stratification, the seeds germinate within another year. It is advisable to place the bed for sowing in light mesh partial shade on humus-rich, light loamy soil. Sowing is done as follows: scatter the nuts sparsely over the surface of the soil, and sprinkle them a little so that they are not completely covered, but are only fixed from being moved by the wind. In its first summer, a linden seedling grows only 5-7 cm. If it is not replanted, then by 6 years its height reaches one meter and a 2-centimeter diameter at the butt. The first flowering, even if the tree is lucky with the soil and location, should be expected when it reaches a height of 4-5 m, and not earlier than 15 years.

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