Lime trees not only show extremely good qualities as park, garden and avenue trees. Their, to a certain extent, tireless joy in reproduction also gives cause for amazement. In the following we give you an overview of their ingenuity in terms of reproductive technology.
The lime tree can be propagated in various ways
The healthy art preservation ethics of Linden
Linden live according to Darwin's principle. They are determined to preserve their kind and display a truly astounding persistence in doing so. This is particularly evident in their great ingenuity in propagation. Basically, linden trees are able to multiply in two ways:
- vegetative, i.e. asexual via cell division
- generative, i.e. via pollination and seed sowing
The vegetative variants
Vegetative propagation is based solely on the principle of cell division. There is no sexual process involved here. Within vegetative propagation, the lime tree has two variants available:
- root sprouts
- stick rash
root sprouts
Root sprouts are shoots that emerge from buds on roots that run above ground. The linden masters this method excellently. New shoots can therefore easily be formed around an adult specimen, which are also suitable for replanting. However, a prerequisite for the root suckering to develop is damage to the mother tree, usually an injury, which entails a disruption in the growth substance balance.
stick rash
In the case of the so-called stick rash, the linden resorts to “sleeping eyes”. These are secondary buds that develop around a main bud. They have the role of a jumper - because they are only needed if the plant loses a branch or trunk. In this case, the dormant bud can come to life and form a new plant organ.
In concrete terms, this is shown by the fact that a new shoot emerges from a cut linden branch or even from a tree stump after felling.
You can also use this property of the linden tree by cutting and growing wooden cuttings for propagation.
The generative method
This is the usual seed propagation, in which fertilization of the flowers by pollinators is necessary. Bees in particular are important pollinators for the lime tree. The trained seed fruits are carried away by the wind on a long, narrow bract in order to be able to seed at a new location.
As a rule, a mature seed fruit takes a relatively long time to germinate. A fruit that is harvested while it is still green can sprout immediately.