Silver Lime or Silver Pendant Lime, Cobtree Manor Park

There are three large limes in a group on the lower right of the Arboretum by the Old Cherries. They are labelled Silver lime, Tilia tomentosa, but they might be the commoner hybrid Silver Pendant Lime Tilia tomentosa 'Petiolaris'.

The petioles are generally equal to or much longer than the lengths of the leaves, and the leaves tend to hang down in consequence. The teeth looked pretty regular, and the fruit are quite globular and perhaps sulcate (BSBI crib). The tree also droops right down to the ground, which again fits the characteristics of 'Petiolaris'. The white undersides should flash in the gentlest of breezes. However I didn't see any evidence of grafting onto the stock of Common Lime, so I may be incorrect - I will have to check for grafting!

'Petiolaris' was introduced to the UK in the 1840s, planted first in the Cambridge Botanic Garden and then at Kew, and gained the RHS AGM award in 2002. It should make a graceful 30 m high domed tree, with "weeping side-branches from heavy, crooked main limbs. Leaf stalk more than half as long as leaves." (Johnson and More, the Collins Tree Guide). It is supposed to have good yellow autumn colours.

The tree is also said to be aphid-resistant but (in consequence perhaps?) the flowers are said to be narcotic to bees.  On the otherhand the instances of dead bumblebees could be exhausted bees being found around their favourite nectar plant. Anyway, here on these leaves you can see what look like Eriophyid Mite galls, with felting on the corresponding underside patches.

Here is a link to the relevant excerpt for Tilia tomentosa (Moench) from Bean's Trees and Shrubs.