The lime tree
The Wood Guide · Calculating with wood
The tree behind the woodThe lime tree
Heart-shaped leaves, sweet-scented blossom and a dome-like crown. Lime trees have stood in streets, parks and village squares for centuries — and outlive the houses around them.
- Up to 1,000 years old
- 25 to 40 metres tall
- The softest carving wood there is
A tree to grow old with
The lime is imposing but never threatening: a broad, dome-shaped crown above a grey, furrowed trunk.
- Lifespan
- up to 1,000 years
- Height
- 25 to 40 metres
- Leaves
- heart-shaped
- Flowering
- June and July
- Scent
- sweet-scented blossom
- Crown
- broad and dome-shaped
- Bark
- grey and furrowed
- Wood
- soft and light
In pictures · A tree that feeds and shelters
Schematic drawing.
A tree that feeds and shelters
Few trees do as much for the life around them as an old lime.
For bees and insects
The nectar from the blossom is an important food source in June and July — just when many other nectar plants have finished flowering. Stand under a flowering lime in June and you can hear it hum.
For birds
The broad, dense crown offers nesting sites to many species.
For people
The blossom has been picked for centuries for lime-blossom tea, known for its calming effect and pleasant taste.
Lime wood: the sculptor's favourite
Soft, light and exceptionally even — that makes lime the classic wood for carving and sculpture.
Where oak and pine have a will of their own — hard growth rings that steer your chisel, knots that tear out — lime can be worked in any direction. The texture is so uniform that the chisel does what you want, not what the wood wants. That is why the great Gothic and Baroque wood carvings were often made from it.
Lime wood does not belong outdoors, though: it is not durable and has no resistance to moisture or insects. For garden furniture, look at pressure-treated spruce, Douglas fir or hardwood.
Sculpture and carving, model making, hidden parts in furniture, and sound components of some instruments. If you want to engrave something in wood yourself, lime is one of the most rewarding species to start with — see wood engraving.
Frequently asked questions about the lime tree
How old can a lime tree get?
Up to a thousand years. That is why village centres and squares still have lime trees that stood there centuries before the houses around them.
Why are lime trees so important for bees?
The blossom yields a huge amount of nectar in June and July, exactly when many other nectar plants have finished flowering. One old lime feeds whole colonies.
What is lime wood used for?
Mainly for carving and sculpture: it is soft, light and very even in texture, without hard growth rings that steer the chisel. It does not belong outdoors — it is not durable enough for that.
Why is everything sticky under a lime tree?
That is honeydew: a sugary secretion from aphids living in the crown. Annoying for a car parked underneath, but it is also exactly what makes the tree such a rich habitat.
From tree to furniture
The lime gives no garden furniture, but it does give one of the finest stories in our register.
Have a question about your project? Just ask — we're happy to help.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Tilia platyphyllos — Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY 3.0