spampot ""spampot\"@NO SPAM orph.org" wrote:

Someone mentioned to me recently that there's a linden pest now in the
U.S.; anyone know anything about that? I'd been thinking of getting a
linden myself but this makes me pause.

According to Colorado Extension:

"Linden trees, sometimes called basswood or lime tree, are an excellent
choice for the urban landscape. They are especially hardy, tolerant of
alkaline soils, visited by few destructive insects and exhibit a
natural, pyramidal shape that requires little pruning. Lindens are slow
growers and will take many years to provide shade. They produce small,
round, persistent fruits that are attached to leaf-like appendages.
These trees have attractive, golden yellow fall color.

Lindens may be plagued by aphids. They do not hurt the tree, but may
result in sticky foliage which attracts bees and wasps. Cottony maple
scale may also infest linden. This scale looks like small one-fourth
inch cottony masses on the twigs and branches. Again, they cause no harm
to the tree, but the scales can create a nuisance."

However they are very susceptible to herbicides, so if you use any
weed'n'feed product anywhere near by, the foliage will get distorted.
It is perhaps the most susceptible plant to herbicides.

According to Vermont Extension and Wisconsin Extension:

The northeastern US has a Linden Borer that is a serious pest. Injury
to trees may be kept to a minimum by maintaining tree vigor and by
wrapping the lower trunk of newly planted trees with tarred paper for a
year or two until the tree is well established.

http://cecommerce.uwex.edu/pdfs/A3813.PDF
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