Littleleaf Linden for pollinators, AKA Basswood trees that feed honey bees and more.

Linden blossoms provide nectar that produces a light colored honey when harvested and processed by honey bees.
It's one of my all time favorite trees for pollinators.
Protect from Deer, Japanese Beetles, Aphids, and other leaf munchers.
Source your own through your trusted garden center.
Flowers are also valued for their medicinal properties.
Leaves are edible.

[@bobshipley6418]

I just planted 2 Littleleaf and 1 Silverleaf Linden a few months ago here in Oregon. About 7 to 8 feet tall when I planted them and they already have buds everywhere. The first ones opened up yesterday and a few bees were already working them!

[@bascia3125]

My Grandfather planted Lindens trees all the way up our street.. the smell was so wonderful when they bloomed, We lived in Massachusetts. When you went to sit under them all you could hear was the bees buzzing. My dad used to pick the leaves with the flowers and dry them out, to make tea in the winter, it wasnt tht tasty but helped stop a cough.. what a.beautiful aroma they have. ❤

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, there are lots of resources out there for making medicinal tea from Lindens. Your Dad sounds interesting!

[@NKYHoneyBees]

*Thank you, Fred. Love these series. Not sure if you knew, but Linden flowers face downward and protect nectar during rain. Also, there is nothing better then Linden tea and honey on a winter cold day. We pick ours and dry them in shade to enjoy as winter tea.*

[@FrederickDunn]

I've been told that too, but my flowers don't all face down with the Littleleaf Linden, they definitely get rained on, but the American Lindens have better cover from the large leaves and they do droop down. Thanks for sharing :)

[@mikesbeesllc]

I planted 6 little leaf lindens in my yard a few years ago. As a matter of fact, I got them from your neck of the woods, Fred. They are about 15 feet tall now and bloomed big time this year. Some years a late frost prevents blooming. I have bees in an outyard that had large leaf lindens. They did not bloom this year for some reason. Great information Fred.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks for sharing! My large leaf, or American Lindens are just nowing beginning to bloom so maybe there is still hope for yours :) Glad I planted them here.

[@flowerstreetfarmbees]

Linden’s in full bloom right now here in Lakewood Colorado! They do well with limited annual rainfall here.

[@KenTydeck]

Great honey!

[@redfish440]

Thanks Fred, great photography, I wish those trees would grow here. Have a blessed week !

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks, you too!

[@RunningWithSauce]

I have 40+ Linden trees within 2 miles of my hives. When they are in bloom I have to watch my supers closely as they fill up fast

[@chuckt7636]

Try over 8,000! No joke on monitoring the supers.

[@FrederickDunn]

You said it! If the weather cooperates duriing the linden bloom, you'll notice several lbs per day of honey increase on your strongest hives. It's amazing really, and I wish I'd planted them 24 years ago when I was laying out my property tree plan. However, it could have just as easily been cold and rainy throughout the bloom period... it all has to come together :)

[@chuckt7636]

Set up for the linden trees. When I moved to Buffalo, NY and decided to once again keep bees. I was worried about forage in the Urban setting. I had a ton of hive wood (vintage A.I. root from the 70's) so I decided to put a hive together and ordered a package of Saskatraz bees from Vt. Queen was DOA, second sent without attendants DOA, third time the charm as they say. So a slow start for the hive. That hive gave 160 pounds of honey in the first year! Buffalo (the City of Trees) has 7 species of Linden trees. Overall the second most popular tree in the city is the Little Leaf Linden with 8,366 trees. We also have the American, European and Crimean. The honey is a very light yellow with a green tinge. It has an aromatic quality that makes it a local favorite. Once the Lindens are finished blooming the supers come off the hives are set up for Japanese Knot Weed nectar. On the opposite end of the honey spectrum knot weed honey is almost black (held up to light it is a very dark garnet color) and a very earthy flavor. In the Buckwheat family it is an invasive specie but dang the honey if fantastic. Needless to say I was shocked by the honey harvests. I've never had hives in an area that had a heavy single species nectar flow let alone 2. So much honey, not a bad problem to have. I'm downsizing this year giving away 2 hives and going to 1 and a resource hive. Technically I'm only allowed to have 2 hive in city limits anyway.

[@FrederickDunn]

That all sounds fantastic, thanks for sharing that you're really in-the-honey this year! When the weather cooperates, the bees reallyl can exploit those resources.

[@chuckt7636]

@@FrederickDunn We are looking at rain for two days then two of nice weather then a repeat. I know it sounds crazy for a beekeeper but I'm honey bound to the point I have 60 lbs bottled in the garage, 3 med 9 frame supers on the kitchen floor for processing this week after I pull another 2 supers off a hive prepping for the linden flow. Hence the downsizing!

[@FrederickDunn]

@@chuckt7636 Sounds like a good problem to have :) Do you now have plenty of buyers for your honey?

[@chuckt7636]

@@FrederickDunn I did do a farmers market last year it was lots of fun. I had a lot of people interested in information on honey bees. I took pictures of supers and frames with bees and honey etc. I even brought a couple of books that had a good amount of pictures in them. But honey isn't a commodity that people purchase each week. I notice that bakers made a killing and sold out each week! I had business cards I gave with each purchase and have had repeat customers but it isn't really worth the time to do the farmers market. For me it is a hobby, not so much a business. I give a lot of honey away, sell some here and there and it makes great Christmas gifts.

[@duanevonbargen7516]

We just planted three Linden trees on our property this last weekend. It will be a while before the bees will use them though. But, as you stated, they will be around for a while for the use of others in the future.

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, it's great to plant for tomorrow. :) Also it adds some excitement when they do finally produce flowers.

[@hildebrandtrius]

Thanks Fred I’m looking forward to the rest of this series. Great photography!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much! I'm excited to finally have some time to make these short pollinator videos. :)

[@raymschmidt6032]

I have 1 green spiralina (1 of 5 members of the Lynden fam), and 2 american Lynden. I'm 70 so will never see them at even half growth, but love. The first is blooming age, the other 2 smaller. They say the definition of a good person, is one that plants trees they will never sit in the shade off. My bees love the one blooming.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Ray, you're so right. We're in the age of instant gratification, so planting for tomorrow is hard for some people. I hope that my grandchildren's grandchildren will enjoy these huge trees one day. :)

[@Jack-es9xq]

Has anyone else noticed that their local Black Locusts did not bloom this year??? I'm in southeast Michigan and didn't see a single bloom.

[@vees_bees]

Same here in NY. My apiary is in a grove of black locus. I am so bummed.

[@nikigores8774]

Thank you Fred! I am so thankful to live in a community surrounded by many, many Linden trees! 🙏 Are they also called basswood?

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes :) I'm glad your community has plenty of them.

[@randybrocka1941]

Planted 2 basswood trees about 6 years ago, very fast growing and blooming heavily now. Only downfall in iowa is the Japanese beatle, they just about defoliated two years ago. Didnt seem to hurt it much

[@FrederickDunn]

Definitely have to watch those beetles! I generally trap them and feed them to my fish and chickens. (">

[@jamesbarron1202]

@@FrederickDunn we don’t have them but are they like June Bugs and feed at night also? I can catch 100s of June bugs by placing a lightbulb over a bucket of water at night. You could set that up in the chicken pen with a shallow pan of water and the chickens get a beetle breakfast every morning. They’d be racing each other off the roost everyday. I feed June bugs I catch that way to my fish in my pond.

[@randybrocka1941]

From my experience with Japanese beetles they fly during the day and can easily be caught in a bag trap with an attractant in it. You want to hang the bag away from the garden or what ever you are protecting to pull them away. I think its some kind of pheromones in the attractant. Garden was full of grubs when I roto tilled.

[@michaelremsen2002]

Great Footage!! From what I've read, elderberry has pollen but little if any nectar. You may be interested in tetradium daniellii aka Bee Bee tree. Late season pollen and nectar tree. Since you plant you may want it in your apairy.

[@sonofthunder.]

My chestnut catkins had so many bugs,beetles, and pollinators this yr

[@michaelremsen2002]

Hey Fred, always such great footage! From what I've read elderberry has pollen but no nectar. You might be interested in Tetradium daniellii aka Bee Bee tree for a late season blooming tree that bees love, hence the name. I'm growing a couple up to Maine

[@FrederickDunn]

I'm not sure where you learned that Elderberry blossoms have "no nectar" when in the video I showed nectar feeding going on. There are many flies on the blossoms that are also collecting the nectar. Since many of the blossom visitors aren't capable of collecting pollen, nectar must be the attraction for them. But my mind is open on the topic if you have a scientific resource for that statement. My direct observations tell me that nectar is also available even if some of the bees seem focused on the pollen, nectar appears to also be available.

[@SIBEEMAN]

Hi Fred, I have linden trees around me as well. I really love the smell and wish they bloomed longer. My bees and many other pollinators really love them.

[@FrederickDunn]

If your hives/colonies are ready for the Linden Tree bloom, they can take on several pounds of honey every single day that the bloom is on. It's amazing.

[@kennith.]

thank you for sharing. 10 year is some long term planning.

[@FrederickDunn]

You can buy a 6 year old tree :)

[@russellkoopman3004]

Some say the basswood honey has a minty flavor and it doesn't crystallize very quickly. Here in MN they do well but the last two years of drought they didn't do much for the bees. This year with the rain they are doing well. The big leafed basswood here has a huge bouquet of flowers and is a week or more ahead of the little leaf Linden trees. I wonder if the Linden produces as much nectar as the basswood??? In Europe they call them lime (sp) trees.

[@FrederickDunn]

Wow, here it's reversed, my large leaf American lindens are just now opening as the Littleleaf variety is coming to an end. Thanks for sharing. :)

[@kathyhathaway8823]

WOW good timing I have been trying to remember the name of this tree for a while now . I had forgotten the name. Thanks

[@FrederickDunn]

Glad I could help :)

[@kathyhathaway8823]

@@FrederickDunn Is This the tree that puts out nectar that equals the amounts of a bunch of land ?????. I do not remember the complete story on this but I was thinking this is the tree . Thanks

[@frankspataro9714]

There is absolute giant of a basswood tree here behind my garage two guys couldn't reach around it

[@FrederickDunn]

Do you get a big nectar flow boost from it? One large tree can actually provide an instant load for your hives.

[@frankspataro9714]

Yes there are a few around my place and they provide alot of delicious honey some years probaly the best we can make in are area I think anyhow

[@victorkulynycz1397]

Planted 4 little leaf lindens and 6 sourwood trees this year. We've been in a drought so been watering but lost 1 of the sourwood. Can't wait to see them produce but patience is not one of my virtues tho😢

[@Steele_Wings]

Thanks for the information. I have 2 three year old linden trees and have been researching how long until they bloom.

[@FrederickDunn]

Glad I could help! They do have a short bloom cycle, but it's like having a huge open-feeder our for a week. Then they cycle right into the milkweed.

[@enricotoesca3941]

Heilà Mister Frederick 🥰

[@jamesbarron1202]

I wanted to plant some of them but they don’t like Texas heat and drought. I hope all my Tupelo Black Gums will make it here in my dry sand. I lost a bunch to a rare flood event this year. I think my local lake is still closed to all the high water. Now it’s dry and hot and 100 today even though the lakes are still high. Doesn’t take long to dry this sand in 100 degree temps.

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, on my map of Linden distribution for the Littleleaf Linden, they are concentrated in the northeastern quadrant.

[@jamesbarron1202]

@@FrederickDunn right now the only trees I have blooming are my 2 Bubba Desert Willows, my 5 Shoal Creek Vitex, 3 pomegranates and my 8 different varieties of crape myrtles. I’ve got a bunch of Golden Leadball seedlings in pots I grew from seed I’ll plant this fall. They’ll also bloom in our intense summer heat when they get older. I’m always looking for summer blooming trees that can take our heat and drought. My bees prefer the Vitex over the other mature trees I mentioned. I have some Vitex Negundo also that I’m growing from seed. They’re even better for honeybees than the Shoal Creek Vitex but nowhere near as pretty. They have shorter flowers that the shorter tongued honeybees can access. The bumbles and butterflies really go after the Shoal Creek Vitex (Agnus Castus species). Hummingbirds were working my desert willows today.

[@MorningViewBeeCo]

Great video and nice Littleleaf Linden tree. This isn’t native to the US though, so saying it’s mostly found in the NE US is a bit misleading.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks for commenting. I didn't say it's a native, but it is mostly found in the northeastern U.S. and has been here since the 18th century. I'm sorry you found that to be misleading, true, it's not native to the United States.

[@MorningViewBeeCo]

@@FrederickDunn Thanks for the response! I just assumed the tree would mostly be found in its native Europe. You learn something every day. Keep on educating! Love the videos, Fred. Keep up the inspiring work.

[@rodney9799]

If you was gonna take your honey supers off one time a year, what is your opinion on the best time

[@FrederickDunn]

I pull my honey supers in September and leave several weeks for the bees to recover. This is a regional schedule, depends upon late season resources.

[@vytbbb7146]

This tree is perfect for honey, but grows very slowly. I planted some 30 years ago and they are still young trees, far away from maturity. Bees loves them though 😊

[@FrederickDunn]

Definitely for the patient gardener. But a great tree for those planning for the long run in permaculture.

[@glennsnaturalhoney4571]

It is a very unreliable nectar source in NE Indiana. We get a crop 1/5. Zero this year.

[@FrederickDunn]

I wouldn't bank on it as the only nectar source, but it's nice when it works and the weather cooperates :) A badly planned week of rain could profoundly reduce the gains as wlel as dry spells. Thanks for sharing, sorry it didn't do much for your bees.

[@glennsnaturalhoney4571]

@FrederickDunn 2 years ago they filled several supers. We were wet and cold now hot and dry. Doesn't look to be a good honey year for some of us. Oh well, mother nature.

[@sonofthunder.]

Nathan @duckriver honey,just showed honey from his linden,and describes its taste

[@FrederickDunn]

That's great! He described the taste as.... what? Mild, light, now I have to track his video down :)

[@sonofthunder.]

Sourwood,...sorry I was thinking linden