Permaculture Super Trees

Linden trees are one of permaculture's super trees. Linden flowers, leaves, sap, bark, and seeds all find uses as food for humans. Also, pollinators love these trees. Even cloth can be made from its inner bark.

Lindens flower for a couple of weeks in May and June. Bees love them, and give their honey a slight minty flavor. People also eat linden flowers as they open in the spring, or dry them immediately for storage and eating later.

My son and daughter spotted a linden tree on a walk a few weeks ago and instantly picked and ate some leaves. That's when I finally decided it's time to have my own linden trees.

I'm a little strapped for cash, so rooting cuttings are the only option. I went back to the patch of lindens my kids spotted and following best practices for pruning, took three cuttings to root.

I mixed up some sand and potting soil, and chose a planting tray with a nice large domed lid. I poked some holes in the bottom of the tray for drainage and added my mix.

After making sure the soil was damp, I make holes to place the cuttings in. I roughed up the bottom inch of the cuttings with a knife and dipped them in some rooting hormone before placing the cuttings in the soil.

It's been one week now. I've soaked the tray every day with water and the cuttings are alive. I've been told it takes three weeks to get cuttings to rook, so my goal is to keep them alive for that long and hope they have enough roots to survive the rest of the year.

Wish me luck!