Should I remove or save my american basswood?
American Basswood isn't a habitual problem species, so a sound one is usually worth an opinion before it comes out. Most basswood calls are not about failure risk, they are about mess: linden aphids blanket the canopy and rain honeydew onto cars, drives and patios all summer, and Japanese beetles skeletonize the leaves in July. It is a big shade tree that behaves like a nuisance tree, which is why homeowners ask about spraying it or taking it out rather than pruning it.
How to tell which one you've got
Chronic decline on basswood shows as marginal leaf scorch plus undersized, sparse foliage and scattered branch dieback — the Verticillium and root-stress picture. Tell stress from dying by looking at the base, not the leaves: August scorch on a salted corner lot after a dry July is stress, but the same crown over a hollow butt, a conk, or a widening basal sprout ring is a structural decision, because basswood heartwood rots readily and old trunks are frequently hollow.
The structural question
Urban ice-storm species lists put basswood and linden on the susceptible side — the wood is soft and light, so it loads with glaze and gives way rather than flexing. The characteristic Indiana failure is not a single big limb but a split at the base of a multi-stem clump, where included bark between codominant sprout stems tears the tree open at ground level.
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