Pleached Tilia Cordata or Pleached Small Leaved Lime

Pleached Tilia Cordata is a deciduous tree in pleached form with small leaves and fragrant flowers. It’s an excellent way to raise fence height and create privacy. This is a pleached small-leaved lime so it has a clear single trunk and a square crown clipped around a bamboo frame. Over time it will grow and expand to create a cube. 

Tilia Cordata is a small-leaved lime tree that is native to the UK and much of Europe. It was once a common woodland tree and was planted in hedgerows by royal decree to bring good luck during the harvest. It has small heart-shaped deciduous foliage that appears bright green in early spring before maturing to a deeper shade. An unusual feature of the small-leaved lime is the fragrant cup-shaped flowers that bloom in June in pretty shades of cream and white. The blooms are pollinator magnets attracting many species of butterfly and bee to the garden.

In autumn the leaves turn buttery yellow and fall to reveal a strong framework of branches that become shiny in full sun.

Height And Spread of Pleached Tilia Cordata
Pleached Small Leaved Lime can grow to a height of 10 metres and spread over 6 metres which is more than enough to create a continuous above the fence line screen.

How Hardy Is Pleached Tilia Cordata
This is a native tree, so it’s hardy enough to cope with our windy and sub-zero winters. It can cope with some drought once established.

How To Use Pleached Tilia Cordata
Pleached Small Leaved Lime is an excellent choice for above fence line screening. Its foliage blocks out overlooking property, dampens traffic noise, and creates shady privacy screens around seating areas. Although it loses leaves in winter, the branches continue to provide some screening.
Lime trees are a real treat for pollinators in wildlife-friendly spaces or as a pollinator attractor near fruit trees or vegetable gardens.

How To Care For Pleached Tilia Cordata
Pleached Tilia Cordata is a UK native, so it requires little care. It tolerates the majority of soil if it’s well-drained and prefers a sunny to partially sunny position.
To keep its pleached shape, a yearly prune is required. Tie new stems to the bamboo frame and trim away excess in the winter months. The bamboo frame can be left in place as the tree grows.
Water well because underwatering is the main reason newly planted trees fail to take. Mulch in early spring for fragrant blossom and intense leaf colour.