Tilia platyphyllos 'Rubra'

RHS Plant Profile

red-twigged lime

RHS 2002

Other common names

large-leaved lime 'Rubra'

Synonyms

Tilia platyphyllos 'Corallina'

Trees

Buy this from Plant Nurseries
7 Suppliers

A large vigorous deciduous tree to 30m tall, with a uniformly semi-upright habit, the twigs reddish in winter. Heart-shaped dark green leaves to 12cm in length, turn yellow in autumn. The pendent clusters of 3-5 pale yellow flowers are sweetly fragrant, and produced in midsummer; pollarding highlights the young red shoots for winter colour

Position

Full sun, Partial shade

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

Higher than 12 metres

Max Spread

wider than 8 metres

Size

Time to Maturity: 20–50 years
Max Spread: wider than 8 metres
Max Height: Higher than 12 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand

Moisture: Moist but well–drained
pH: Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun Partial shade

Aspect: West–facing or South–facing or East–facing
Exposure: Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20): H6

Colour & Scent

Fragrance Flower

Season	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family: Malvaceae
Native to GB/Ireland: No
Foliage: Deciduous
Habit: Columnar upright
Genus: Tilia are deciduous trees with broadly ovate or heart-shaped leaves and pendulous clusters of fragrant yellow-green flowers, followed by conspicuous winged fruits
Name Status: Accepted

How to Grow

Cultivation

Suitable for parks and very large gardens. Grow in moist but well-drained soil in full sun or part shade, with shelter from cold winds. May produce thickets of stems (suckers) at the base of the trunk. For more advice see tree cultivation

Propagation

Propagate by chip budding although care must be taken with the choice of rootstock or propagate by suckers in winter

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Architectural
Wildlife gardens
Hedging and screens

Pruning

Pruning group 1; a suitable tree for coppicing, pleaching and pollarding; remove suckers at the base of the trunk in spring

Pests

May be susceptible to aphids, horse chestnut scale, caterpillars, sawflies and gall mites

Diseases

May be susceptible to sooty mould, phytophthora root rot and honey fungus