Is an american basswood a good tree to plant in Indiana?
American Basswood can work here, with caveats. Native to Indiana and genuinely common in rich woods, moraine slopes and fencerows across the central part of the state, so most large yard specimens are woodlot leftovers on older or larger lots rather than something a builder planted. It is also salt-sensitive, which makes it a poor performer on the road-salt exposure of a corner lot or a tree lawn.
What you'd be signing up to clean up
Three separate messes: the sticky honeydew film and black sooty mold under the canopy from roughly June through August, chewed-out lace-leaf litter after the Japanese beetle run in late July, and clusters of hard nutlets hanging from papery bracts that helicopter down and skid underfoot on drives in fall. The honeydew is the one people actually pay to solve.
Where to keep it away from
Shallow and wide in central Indiana clay, staying in the top foot or two and surfacing in the lawn where mower and trimmer wounds open the thin root bark. The bigger practical issue is basal and root sprouting: mature basswood commonly stands as a clump of stems off one root plate, so a "one tree" removal is often three or four stems plus a sprout ring that regenerates unless the stump is treated.
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