The HOA and other entity(ies) underneath on the legal description may very well have standards/requirements/contractual obligations. Many do. You'll want to recommend what is on the approved list and if it is not on the list, then you'll have to make a case. Start there first.

Dan

Being primarily a mesic tree, I'm thinking an American Linden/Basswood would love living next to your creek.
Unfortunately though, they are known to sucker at the base.
They do attract bees when in bloom and are cold hardy (northern selection) so you're getting most of what you want I think.

Glad to hear you're suggesting the native linden rather than the more widely available and over-planted littleleaf linden (esp Greenspire). The native linden varieties you may be able to locate from larger nurseries are American Sentry, Boulevard, Legend, and Redmond. Sometimes the straight species is also available. All make fine shade trees, but as the previous poster noted all have a tendency to sucker from the base of the trunk. In my observation, littleleaf lindens are generally a bit more susceptible to Japanese beetles than the native varieties. American Sentry is relatively new, so I haven't observed it for very long, but it is advertised to be quite resistant to Japanese beetles.

Thanks for all the great advice. I didn't think a possible list of "approved" trees in our HOA contract or bylaws. I'll check that out first. On the other hand, the neighborhood is about 35 years old, it would be time to update that list... :-)

Yep, linden trees, or basswood, are really liked by beekeepers. I know of a guy who has a couple of hives near the Morton Arboretum and makes some great honey each year from their large collection of linden trees. Plus the different varieties they have in their collection make for an extended bloom period... sigh, I guess location is everything.

Dave, thanks for your suggestion on the American linden tree. I noticed the different levels of JB attraction between the little leaf lindens and one American linden tree that is growing a few houses down from me. Now that I think about it, that tree doesn't show any suckers yet, but it's also still a fairly young tree. Trunk diameter about 8 to 10" or so.

Thanks again for your help and ideas. I'll come back form more help if indeed I get my HOA to update their tree recommendation. I wonder if they even have such a list, if they do, nobody seems to enforce it...

"Resistant to Japanese Beetle and Gypsy moth."

Here is a link that might be useful: Tilia tomentosa 'Sterling'

ItÂs not a native species, of course, but bboy is correct - silver linden is relatively resistant to Japanese Beetles. However, my observations are that where JB numbers are high silver lindens can occasionally sustain noticeable damage. And although Sterling is regularly touted to have superior resistance, I havenÂt seen a significant difference between Sterling and other silver lindens. I think in terms of overall form and appearance Green Mountain is probably just as good or better than Sterling.

Suckering in the lindens seems to be variable, even among different individuals of the same (genetically identical) variety. The tendency to sucker may sometimes be affected by other factors such as soil texture, kind of rootstock, and basal wounding.