Cold hardiness

Future

2050

2100

These values are location-based: this location's current hardiness is the baseline, and the 2050 value is a projected future climate for this same location.

Now

Zone 6b

USDA

Published baseline for this location from 1991-2020.

Source: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (1991-2020 climatology) via ArcGIS FeatureServer

Well-suited

2050

Zone 7a

Plotwright

Projected zone for this same location in 2050 (2041-2070) using SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry).

Well-suited

In plain terms: This location is in Zone 6b today. Its hardiness profile is cold winters, and coldest nights are typically around -3°F. By 2050, the projected hardiness zone is Zone 7a based on SSP3-7.0 (regional rivalry). That is a +0.5-zone shift from Zone 6b to Zone 7a by 2050.

✓

Well-suited today and still thriving in 2050.

Heat tolerance

Future

2050

2100

Heat tolerance values are location-based too: heat days today are observed at this site, and the 2050 value projects this same location under a future climate.

Loading AHS heat-zone data for this location...

Where this plant fits

Suitable across 40 ecoregions — 35 climate-resilient through 2070 · 5 suited today. Best matches first.

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Arizona Mountains forests

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Blue Mountains forests

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Pacific Northwest coastal forests

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Central-Southern Cascades Forests

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Colorado Rockies forests

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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

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What it needs

Conditions

Light

Full sun / Part sun / Part shade

Water

Moderate water

Spacing

480"

Habit

Medium-to-large deciduous native shade tree with an ovate-rounded crown

Care tips

•

Give it room and an open, non-urban site — at 50-80 ft with a 30-50 ft spread it needs space, and it resents air pollution and compacted street conditions.

•

Plant in a moist, fertile, well-drained loam for the best growth; it tolerates clay and some drought but is not at its best in dry, lean soil.

•

Watch for spider mites in hot, dry spells (they can do significant damage) and keep an eye out for infrequent but potentially fatal Verticillium wilt.

Lifecycle

Planting

Plant balled-and-burlapped or container stock in spring or fall in average, medium-moisture, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Prefers moist, fertile, well-drained loams and tolerates clay. Site it away from streets and parking lots — Missouri Botanical Garden notes it is generally intolerant of air pollution and urban conditions.

Transplanting

Transplants readily as a young balled-and-burlapped or container tree while dormant in spring or fall; give a large shade tree room for its 30-50 ft mature spread.

Early growth

Water through the first few seasons to establish. Tolerates some drought once established but looks best with consistent moisture in a fertile loam.

Maturity

Mature trees reach 50-80 feet (infrequently over 100) with an ovate-rounded crown and pale-yellow fragrant June flowers ripening to nutlets. Watch for spider-mite damage in hot, dry periods and infrequent but potentially fatal Verticillium wilt.

Propagation

Propagated by seed (which needs pretreatment to break dormancy) and by the basal sprouts the species readily produces; named selections are budded or grafted.

Pollination

Self-fertile

A single tree flowers and sets nutlets on its own — basswood does not need a separate pollinizer. The pale-yellow June flowers are intensely fragrant and insect-pollinated; Missouri Botanical Garden lists the tree as attracting bees and butterflies, and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags special value to native bees and to honey bees, for which basswood is a noted nectar (honey) source.

Plants don't grow alone

Larval host

Moth

Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus)

Nectar forage

Bee

European honeybee (Apis mellifera)

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags Tilia americana as having special value to honey bees; basswood is a noted nectar (honey) source, and Missouri Botanical Garden lists the fragrant June flowers as attracting bees.

Nectar forage

Bee

Common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens)

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center flags special value to native bees; bumble bees work the fragrant pale-yellow June cymes for nectar.

Nectar forage

Bee

Sweat bees (Lasioglossum spp.)

Small native sweat bees are part of the broad native-bee guild the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center notes basswood supports, though the source does not name genera.

Seed forage

Bird

Eastern songbirds (multi-species) (multiple species (Passeriformes))

Missouri Botanical Garden lists the tree as attracting birds; the pea-sized nutlets and seed are eaten by songbirds, though the source does not enumerate species.

Foliage forage

Mammal

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

For people

Not eaten by humans

Grown as an ornamental shade and street tree and commercially harvested — particularly in the Great Lakes region — for its soft, light wood used in furniture, shipping crates, boxes, and veneer (Missouri Botanical Garden). It is not a human food crop.

Native range

Native across 38 US states + 4 CA provinces.

AHS heat range

1-9

Native ecoregions

Naturally belongs in 22 ecoregions — its native range crosses a state or province each one spans (not necessarily this exact habitat).

Appalachian mixed mesophytic forests

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Appalachian-Blue Ridge forests

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Atlantic coastal pine barrens

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Canadian Aspen forests and parklands

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Central Tallgrass prairie

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Chihuahuan desert

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Cross-Timbers savanna-woodland

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Eastern Canadian Forest-Boreal transition

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Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests

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Edwards Plateau savanna

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Climate notes

•

Missouri Botanical Garden PlantFinder lists Tilia americana for USDA zones 2 to 8 in full sun to part shade with medium water; it is easily grown in average, medium-moisture, well-drained soils, tolerates some drought and clay, and prefers moist, fertile loams, but is generally intolerant of air pollution and urban conditions.

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The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents it native across the eastern US (AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV) and into Canada (MB, NB, ON, QC), with fragrant creamy-yellow flowers of special value to native and honey bees.

•

Per Missouri Botanical Garden, common problems include spider mites (significant damage in hot, dry periods), infrequent but sometimes fatal Verticillium wilt, and occasional powdery mildew, leaf spots, and cankers; borers, beetles, lacebugs, caterpillars, and scale are also insect visitors.

In the designer

Growth over time

600-960" tall · 360-600" spread

Mature 50-80 ft tree with a full ovate-rounded crown and reliable fragrant June bloom.

Design roles: Structure · Focal point · Pollinator

Seasonal interest

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Filled = the plant has seasonal interest · ▾ now = your current season

American basswood

At a glance

Related products

Why it matters

Cold hardiness

Heat tolerance

Where this plant fits

What it needs

Lifecycle

Pollination

Plants don't grow alone

For people

Native range

Climate notes

In the designer

Seasonal interest

Sources & citations