Lime Trees

Buying Lime / Linded Trees Online:

Order Potted Lime Trees Now For September Delivery

Pre-Order Bareroot Lime Trees For 2025/26 Winter Season

Limes of the Tilia family are vigorous, tough, medium to large sized trees that are happy being pollarded, and being cut back hard in general, which makes them perfect for planting beside the road in the city, where space is limited.
They also make outstanding avenue trees and few large specimens look better in a parkland or large garden setting. 

What size Lime / Linden trees should I buy?

• If you are not in a hurry to get a full sized Lime tree, we recommend starting with the smaller 6/8cm girth size.
• If you are in a hurry and need instant impact, then go for the 8/10cm girth size.

Standard trees are measured by their girth 1 metre above the ground, and young saplings are measured by height.
Therefore, a 6/8cm Standard Lime tree is much bigger than an 60/80cm sapling Lime tree. If a tree is available in both sizes, it will be noted in the product descriptions.

Browse our full range of Garden Trees.

• Order now, pay later: we don't charge your card until before delivery
• When your order is ready: your mail order trees are delivered by next working day courier (not the next working day after ordering!)
• Friendly support: if there is anything wrong with your plants when you inspect them, Contact Us within 5 working days

All bareroot plants are covered by our Refund Guarantee, so you can give them a whirl with complete confidence.

Being one of the larger trees in the UK, lime trees are perfect for spacious British gardens and widely planted as street trees.

Are Lime Trees Native?

Tilia cordata, Tilia × europaea, and Tilia platyphyllos are all native to the UK.
The others are native to Europe and Western Asia. 

Why do Lime (Linden) Trees Have the Same Name as Lime (Citrus) Trees?

The trees are not related and have nothing in common.

The name Lime for Tilia species is derived from the Middle English lind, meaning flexible (lithe probably has the same root) referring to the timber's properties, especially the bast wood; in America, the common name is basswood, although they have their own species, Tilia americana. 

The green citrus fruit Lime (which we don't sell) takes its name from the Persian limun, which became lima in Arabic and thus Spanish, which is where English takes the word from.

Where Can I Grow Lime (Linden) Trees?

Lime trees grow best in moist, rich, fertile soil, but are extremely tough and will basically grow anywhere with reasonable drainage, including very compacted soil under paving in the city.

They are hardy, suitable for exposed locations and immune to urban pollution. Our varieties will reach between 10-30 metres, unless they are pleached or pollarded, for which we have a ready-to-pleach option.

When and How do I plant Lime Trees?

Lime trees are only delivered and planted bareroot during late Autumn to early Spring, from November to March. 

This is the best time to plant any tree, because bareroot trees are cheaper, easier to carry and plant, and tend to establish even better than their pot grown equivalents. 

Watch our Tree Planting Video for instructions.
We strongly recommend using Rootgrow.

Aftercare:

Remember: the two biggest killers of recently transplanted trees are underwatering, and being choked by weeds and grass.

1. Regular, thorough watering is vital during dry weather in their first spring and summer, and highly recommended the following summer, especially if there is a heat wave.
2. Either remove weeds and grass by hand periodically, or use some form of mulch to suppress them.

Tree Planting Accessories

Standards that are 6/8cm in girth and upwards are quite big trees, so they need a tree planting stake and a tree tie (with a buffer between the tree and the stake) during their first couple of years. 

A mulch mat is will suppress weeds & grass, and preserve moisture: remember that dry soil and competition with weeds are the two biggest killers of new trees.
Even with a mat, you should remove anything that manages to grow up between the mat and the trunk in late spring and summer.

You can buy those items separately, or save money with our Tree Planting Pack.

You definitely need a tree guard if there are deer or rabbits about. 
In urban areas with no wild animals, tree guards are great for protecting against mowers and strimmers.
For that purpose, you can cut one tree guard into several pieces about 20-25cm long, to act as skirting around the base of the tree.

Mycorrhizal Fungi

We cannot recommend using Rootgrow fungi enough: it makes a huge difference, especially with larger trees, which are scrambling to regrow the root systems that they lost when we dug them up, in order to support their now top-heavy growth above ground. 

Mycorrhizal fungi assist the roots in accessing soil nutrients and water, and protect the roots from soil critters.
In return, the tree shares sugar with them, and the result can be over 50% more growth above ground!

How long does a lime tree live for?

How tall do lime trees grow?

What are the uses of lime trees?

Lime flowers, better known as linden flowers, are a traditional herbal remedy for coughs and indigestion and are even said to help reduce anxiety. The sweetly honey fragranced flowers appear in early spring, dripping with sticky nectar. For adventurous gardeners, lime wood is fast-growing and incredibly easy to carve and lathe for detailed crafts.

Are Lime Trees bad for Bees?

There have been suspicions that they, especially T. tomentosa, can kill bees, which famously get "drunk" on their nectar and pass out for a while.
A 2017 review of the literature indicates that the death of bees around limes is not caused by the trees themselves, but rather a lack of nearby alternatives, mainly in urban areas.
Limes are very attractive to bees, who will continue to search their flowers for nectar when it is all but finished if there is not much else around.