Tree with heart shaped leaves is not only beautiful, but it establishes your expression of love for years as even the generations yet to come will see you through the tree.
Like regular trees, trees with heart-shaped leaves are easy to grow so long as they are growing in their preferred environment. Read this article to find out all you need to know about these trees.
Contents
- List of Tree With Heart Shaped Leaves
- 1. Northern Catalpa
- 2. American Basswood
- 3. Eastern Redbud (Cercis Canadensis ‘Flame Thrower’)
- 4. Henry’s Lime
- 5. Hearts of Gold Redbud
- 6. Quaking Aspen (Populus Tremuloides)
- 7. Carolina Basswood
- 8. Empress Tree
- 9. Turkish Hazel
- 10. Southern Catalpa
- 11. Italian Alder
- 12. Western Redbud
- 13. European Linden
- 14. Black Mulberry
- 15. Silver Linden
- 16. Dove Tree
- 17. Yellow Catalpa
- 18. White Mulberry
- Conclusion
List of Tree With Heart Shaped Leaves
Here are the names and the description of each tree that has leaves with the shape of a heart.
1. Northern Catalpa
This is a popular tree in the United States. It is a deciduous tree that grows to reach 50-100 feet tall and around 40 feet in diameter (i.e. including the canopy).
Other names for this tree which is native to the midwestern regions of the United States are cigar tree, hardy catalpa, western catalpa, bois chavanon, and catawba tree and even Catalpa Speciosa. The tree which has gray to brown barks is sought out by fishermen because of the caterpillars it houses, that are useful to them.
The leaves of northern catalpa trees are whorled or opposite, heart-shaped, large, and grow 8-12 inches in length and six to eight inches in width.
They also have pointed tips and there are soft hairs beneath them. The trumpet-shaped flowers are one to two inches across, have purple spots inside, and with yellow and white stripes. This is the last tree that grows leaves in early spring
This catalpa tree loves an environment with moist soil, high pH, and full sun. Remember that you shouldn’t not grow it compacted with other trees so that it can grow fast and without problems.
2. American Basswood
The beautiful American basswood is a tree in the family Malvaceae that is native to regions in eastern North America, starting from southeast Manitoba down to New Brunswick, southeast to South Carolina, along the Niobrara River, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, and Nebraska. This tree can grow faster than so many hardwoods in North America.
The leaves of the Tilia Americana are simple, ovate to cordate, alternately arranged, unequal at the base, asymmetrical, long and broad, and have a long and slender petiole.
They have an acuminate apex trunk and a roughly serrated margin. They can start to grow from 60 and reach up to 120 feet tall and their trunk can have a diameter of three to five feet.
The yellowish-white flowers are small, fragrant, arranged in cymose, drooping clusters of six to twenty flowers with leaf-like whitish-green bracts. People consume the leaves of this tree to treat lung complaints, heartburn, dysentery, and weak stomachs. The wood is not so favorable for burning.
3. Eastern Redbud (Cercis Canadensis ‘Flame Thrower’)
This is a deciduous small looking shrub that is native to eastern North America; from southern Michigan down to central Mexico and New Jersey.
The trees can also thrive in places such as California and southern Ontario. People consume the inner bark and roots to cure ailments such as fevers, vomiting, and even congestion. Native Americans ate the raw or boiled flowers and roasted seeds of this tree.
The tree leaves are broadly heart-shaped, alternate, simple, and grow three to five inches wide and high. They first emerge reddish and then turn green as they age.
The flowers of the tree are showy, appearing in clusters, dark to light magenta pink in color, and growing 0.5 inches in length. Nonetheless, you must know that these tree would bloom from spring to early summer. This magnificent tree can grow to reach 50 to 70 years.
You can grow this tree if you are living in places in USDA hardiness zone 6b. In the early stage of the tree, enrich the soil with compost and other sources of nitrogen so that it can grow quickly. When the tree is well-established, you do not need to feed it anymore.
4. Henry’s Lime
Henry’s lime is a very common tree that originates from China to the West and was introduced by a scientist, Ernest Wilson in the year 1901. The tree is native to the Chinese provinces of Hubei, Anhui, Henan, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shaanxi, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang.
This deciduous tree can grow, reaching heights of 82 feet. The Tilia Henryana’s bark is fissured and pale gray. The heart-shaped leaf of the tree is sea green, and grows four inches long.
They grow from one to two inch petioles and have distinctive ciliate margins. The fragrant flowers are tiny, pale, and almost white, and appear in clusters of about 20 flowers in fall.
While the plant would grow in full sun, it tends to perform better in shaded locations. This means that it does not mind growing in compacted locations. If you want to grow the tree for its beautiful leaves, ensure to feed it with an organic fertilizer when it is young.
5. Hearts of Gold Redbud
This beautiful tree is a deciduous tree with heart-shaped leaves that often grows with multiple stems. The Cercis Canadensis tree has a rounded crown that can reach heights of 16 feet and a width of 19 feet.
The heart-shaped leaves of the tree are orange-red in spring this means that when they are young, however they would later turn bright gold-yellow when there is full sun above them.
When mature, the leaves will turn a yellow-green color and that will be their final color. While this tree produces flowers, its major features of interest are its heart-shaped and colorful leaves that beautify their surroundings.
The tree would grow best in full sun but can tolerate partial shade. They need moderately fertile soils, so you need to give them compost if the soil is nutrient-depleted.
Remember tha you must make sure that the substrate has consistent and regular moisture. Also, the tree needs to experience the chill of winter before it can start producing flowers. When you see the tree flowering for the first time, you can give it phosphorus-rich fertilizer. However, note that this is not necessary.
6. Quaking Aspen (Populus Tremuloides)
Here is another beautiful tree with heart-shaped leaves. This deciduous tree is native to the cooler regions of North America.
Other names for the beautiful tree include trembling aspen, American aspen, trembling poplar, mountain or golden aspen, popple, and white poplar. Trees of this species usually live for 80 and up to 100 years, though some have been found to live for over 200. Aspen trees bloom in autumn.
This pretty tree has a trunk that can grow 82 feet tall and with a smooth pale bark with black scars. The green leaves which can also be red are glossy, dull beneath, and can become golden to yellow when mature.
It can propagate through its roots to produce large adventitious buds or clonal groves, all growing from a shared root system. Note that the tree does not have rhizomes.
Their leaves are gray below and green above. These Aspen trees have separate sexes, so you can have either male or female trees in your yard. They propagate by themselves and you can remove the young trees by yourself if you do not want them. Remember how you must make sure that you use clean tools when cutting the young trees.
7. Carolina Basswood
This is a special tree in the family Malvaceae that is native to the southeastern and southern states of the United States and Mexico. It can grow 98 feet tall with its trunk reaching 4.9 feet in diameter. The Tilia Caroliniana leaves are very unequal at their base, large, broad, have a fine-toothed margin, and have silvery color beneath and light green above.
The flowers of this tree are larger than those of other Tilias and are produced in clusters of 10 to even 24 flowers.
The fruits of this tree are spherical, downy, grow 0.5 inches in diameter, and have a fruit bract pointed at their base. While the wood has some medicinal uses, it is not used for burning as it does not burn properly.
The beautiful heart-shaped leaves of this tree are the reason why the tree is popular outside its region. This tree is also a hardy tree, tolerating droughts and harsh temperatures. However, it prefers an environment with consistent moisture in the soil as well. Also, it grows best when exposed to at least seven hours of daily sunlight.
8. Empress Tree
This is a beautiful and popular tree in the Paulowniaceae family, which is why its scientific name is Paulownia Tomentosa. It is a deciduous hardwood tree that is native to western and central China.
Other names for the beautiful tree are the princess tree and the foxglove tree. The tree can live for 40 till 70 years and even up to 150, growing 20 feet tall just a year after germinating and reaching its mature height that starts from 33 and would rise to 82 feet in as little as 10 years.
The heart-shaped large leaves of this tree are five-lobed, growing in opposite pairs on the branch, and growing six to 16 inches in height and width. The tree produces very sweet-smelling, large flowers that are violet-blue in color in spring. In early spring Empress trees produce the flowers before the leaves, so you can see their showy beauty.
People make use of the tree wood to make furniture, wood carvings, musical instruments, bowls, pots, and spoons. In Japan, there was a tradition of planting an Empress tree whenever a family had a baby girl. T
hey would continue to care for the tree until their daughter is old enough for marriage and then they would make use of the wood to make a wedding chest for her.
9. Turkish Hazel
This is a deciduous type of tree tree that is also called Corylus Colurna, and it is native to southwest Asia and the south-eastern regions of Europe, from northern Turkey through the Balkans.
The tree grows 82 feet tall, has a stout trunk that reaches five feet in diameter, and a crown that is conical and slender in young trees, becoming broader as the tree matures. The bark of this tree is pale grey and has a thick and corky texture.
The heart-shaped leaves of this tree are deciduous, so they fall annually. They are two to five inches long and two to five inches wide with soft hairs on their upper and lower surfaces.
The leaves also have a coarsely shallowly lobed to double-serrate margin. Hazel blooms in early spring a few days before the leaves. Their flowers are unisexual and their catkins have single sexes.
As a species with male and female individuals, you should ask the nursery about the sex of your tree before you buy it. These trees need full sun as well as moist, well-drained soil. When they are well-established, they can tolerate more extreme levels of drought, heat, and cold.
10. Southern Catalpa
Southern catalpa trees are native to the southeastern parts of the United States, especially in places such as Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Some common names of the beautiful tree include the cigar tree and the Indian bean tree.
This tree is a popular tree often used as a street and garden tree as it is medium-sized and fast-growing. It is, in addition, a deciduous tree that can reach up to 50 to 60 feet in height, growing a trunk that grows up to 3 feet in diameter.
Southern catalpa trees grow brown or gray barks that later mature and transform into hard ridges or plates. The leaves of these trees are heart-shaped, large, bright green, and grow eight to 12 inches long and six to eight inches wide.
These trees have trumpet-shaped flowers that grow 1-1.5 inches both in height and diameter. The flowers are white, having yellow spots inside and growing in panicles of 20 to 40 flowers.
These beautiful trees prefer places with moist soil and full sun. You can propagate them with their cutting, so you do not need to buy extra if you need more.
11. Italian Alder
Italian alders are also known as Alnus Cordata, they are shrubs or small trees in the family Betulaceae. They are native to the southern parts of the Apennine Mountains and also the northeastern mountains in Corsica.
These trees were introduced in Sardinia and Sicily but have recently naturalized in Central-Northern Italy and other European areas such as the United Kingdom, France, Azores, Belgium, and Spain.
This beautiful tree can grow 80 to 90 feet tall, growing deciduous leaves. It has a very long leaf season in the Northern Hemisphere from the months of April to December.
The leaves are cordate which means heart-shaped), alternate, glossy green, and grow two to five inches long. They also have finely serrated margins.
People grow these trees for various uses, especially as ornamental trees. However, they also make fine medium or large bonsai as they respond to pruning.
If you want to start or practice bonsai gardening, you can start with this tree. Ensure that you enrich the soil of young trees with organic materials such as coffee grounds or compost.
12. Western Redbud
The Cercis Occidentalis or the Western redbuds are shrubs or small trees in the legume family, Fabaceae. They are found across Southwest America, from California down to Arizona and Utah where they are found in the mountains and foothills.
These beautiful legumes bloom from March to May and during their bloom and they are covered with little purple, magenta, or pink flowers during their bloom.
The flowers grow in clusters on every branch all over the shrub, so the tree simply cannot hide its beauty. The leaves on the higher elevation of this tree can turn red or gold as the weather becomes cooler. This is truly a beautiful tree that you should include in your garden.
Western redbud trees prefer full sun, so ensure that they get more than six hours of direct sun daily. They can also grow in a bit of shade. These trees are hardy and can tolerate many types of soils. However, they prefer loam or sandy loam.
13. European Linden
This linden tree is very special as it is a naturally occurring hybrid of Tilia platyphyllos and Tilia cordata trees. You will find the European linden tree wherever both of the parent trees are native.
This beautiful hybrid tree can reach 49 to even 164 feet in height depending on the region. It has a trunk that can grow up to eight feet in diameter and leaves with two to six inches of height and two to five inches of width, and have a very leathery texture to them.
There are thin hairs with denser hairs and tufts growing below the leaf vein axils. The flower clusters have four to ten flowers and appear in early summer with yellow-green subtending bracts that resemble leaves.
Note that you may easily propagate the hybrid tree through layering. Remember to make use of clean tools so that you do not contaminate your tree.
14. Black Mulberry
The black mulberry tree or the Morus Nigra is a tree with commercial importance in the family Moraceae. It is native to the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern Asia. Its leaves grow four to eight inches in length and two to four inches in width.
However, they can grow up to 9 in long when they grow on vigorous shoots. The underside of the leaves is downy while the upper surface is rough with very stiff and short hairs.
The fruit called mulberry is sweet and edible. The fruit is not a single fruit, but a cluster of many small drupes that can be dark purple and almost black when they fully ripen. This tree is pollinated by wind and does not need a separate tree to bear fruit.
15. Silver Linden
Here is another beautiful linden tree from the family Malvaceae which is also called the Tilia Tomentosa.
This linden is native to southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe, from the Balkans east and Romania down to western Turkey, growing at moderate altitudes. It is a deciduous tree which may reach heights of 66 to even 115 feet, producing a trunk up to seven feet in diameter.
The leaves of this beautiful linden are 1.5 to five inches long, arranged alternately, and triangular to rounded-ovate.
The flowers are pale yellow, hermaphrodite which clarifies as both sexes in one, and produced in cymes of up to ten in late summer. The flowers have a pale green subtending bract that resembles the leaves of the tree.
This tree would grow best in USDA hardiness zones 4 to 7. It is tolerant of pollution, heat, soil compaction, and drought, so it makes a good street tree.
16. Dove Tree
The dove tree is a special deciduous, medium-sized tree in the Nyssaceae family, as it is even called Davidia Involucrata. Other names for this tree include the pocket handkerchief tree, the handkerchief tree, and the ghost tree.
This tree is the only species in its genus. It is moderately fast-growing, growing up to 66 to 82 feet in height. The tree has ovate-cordate, toothed, alternate leaves that resemble the leaves of a linden.
The special features of the tree are its flowers. The inflorescence has large, white bracts that surround a flower head that is usually purplish-red.
The inflorescences hang in rows below the horizontal branches of the tree, resembling handkerchiefs. This beautiful tree blooms and shows its beauty from late spring.
The best way to propagate the dove tree is through seed propagation. You must note that the seeds have periods of dormancy and require both cold and warm pre-treatments. You can wait for the seeds to germinate naturally near the tree then collect the seedling.
17. Yellow Catalpa
The yellow catalpa tree is a pod-bearing tree that is native to China but cultivated in Europe and North America. The tree grows 20 to 30 feet tall. Its inflorescences form four to 10 inch-long bunches of flowers that are usually creamy white and have a distinctly yellow center. This tree blooms in July and August.
Its dark green leaves have three lobes with two that are abruptly truncated on one edge while the third, slightly acute, central, pointed lobe forms the apex of the leaf. This is a beautiful tree and when you walk closer to the leaves, you will see their beautiful heart shapes.
18. White Mulberry
The white mulberry tree is a known to be a fast-growing tree that is either small or medium-sized. The tree grows from 10 even till 65 feet tall and its bark is thin in appearance and yellowish-brown.
This beautiful tree originates from India and is cultivated in other places including Mexico, the United States, Australia, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Iran, all the way to Argentina.
The leaves of mulberries can grow up to 12 in length and are deeply lobed. The lobes are usually rounded. This beautiful tree with heart-shaped leaves is usually cultivated to feed silkworms that aid in the production of silk. Mulberries prefer mildly acidic and well-drained soil. The soil can be sandy loam, clayey loam, or normal loam.
Conclusion
Consider growing a tree with heart-shaped leaves because you can use it to express your love for someone or something. Such trees are very beautiful when they bloom, so you will always feel happy and fulfilled when you see them.
Some trees with heart-shaped leaves that you can start with are henry’s limes, Turkish hazels, black mulberries, and dove trees as they are very beautiful and also easy to start. Which one would you like to see or grow?
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