Tilia Centennial™

This new hybrid linden from the Morton Arboretum in Chicago was found on a collecting trip to Kornik Gardens in Poland in 1937. It exhibits excellent resistance to Japanese beetle and possesses a relatively narrow habit, making it a wonderful street tree selection. Centennial produces wonderfully fragrant flowers in mid-late June and is known to be a good nectar source for honey bees.

It is reported to be a hybrid of Tilia americana (a North American species) and Tilia tomentosa ‘Petiolaris’ (a selection from an eastern European species).

In July of 1937, John van Gemert, then Propagator at The Morton Arboretum, proposed an expedition to Europe for the purpose of establishing relationships with botanical gardens, arboreta, and nurseries in the region, and of course to secure access to plant material of interest. Van Gemert had completed similar trips in the past, most notably at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

That September, Mr. van Gemert set sail from New York City, embarking on a three month tour across Europe with the purpose of establishing relationships with botanical gardens, arboreta, and nurseries in the region, and of course to secure access to plant material of interest. Come October, he reached the Kornik Gardens and Arboretum (Kornik, Poland). Here he was able to collect nearly 100 taxa then unrepresented in the Morton Arboretum’s collections and arranged for shipment back to the United States.

One tree of note was Zamoyski’s Linden (Tilia ‘Zamoyskiana’), a rare and little known linden of horticultural origin. What it was about this tree that caught Mr. van Gemert’s eye, other than its relative rarity, will likely remain a mystery. It originated in the collections of the Kornik Gardens and Arboretum, from seed collected off a nearby american linden (Tilia americana), thought to be pollinated by a nearby weeping silver linden (Tilia tomentosa ‘Petiolaris’). It was found to be fast growing, held its green leaves well into the fall, and had an elegant habit owing to its gracefully arching branches. It was named by their Director, Andrew Wróblewski, in honor of Count Wladyslaw Zamoyski (1853-1924), who donated all his properties to the Polish nation, including the Kórnik Arboretum and the Kórnik castle with its museum and library, from which the foundation “Zaklady Kórnickie” was formed.

Prune to shape when young

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