What is happening to my sunburst locust tree?
Some other varieties to consider include:
- Imperial ™ ( Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis ' Impcole'): This is a more compact and thornless cultivar (35 feet) that produces a few seed pods.
- Moraine ( Gleditisia triacanthos var. ...
- Northern Acclaim ( Gleditsia triacanthos var. ...
- Perfection ( Gleditsia triacanthos var. ...
- Street Keeper™ ( Gleditsia triacanthos var. ...
What does a locust tree look like?
Locust trees are resilient, deciduous trees that are part of the pea family of plants. Their identifying characteristics include thorns on the trunk and lower branches, early blooming white flowers that grow in clusters, and reddish-brown pea pods. Click to see full answer.
Is Locust good firewood?
Overall, locust is a great firewood to burn. By cutting down these rapidly growing trees you'll not only help control its invasive tendencies, but you'll keep your house very warm in the process. Black locust firewood will produce 27.9 million BTU's per cord.
Is Locust a hardwood or softwood?
The black locust tree is a hardwood but it's unique because it grows faster than most softwoods. Even though the tree grows extremely fast, it still produces tough, dense, heavy firewood. The tree grows widely throughout the southeastern United States and Europe. Black locust is easily recognized by its leaves and paired spines.
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What is the lifespan of a locust tree?
about 120 yearsThe honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos, can reach a height of 20–30 m (65–100 ft). They exhibit fast growth, but live a medium life span of about 120 years. The leaves are pinnately compound on older trees but bipinnately compound on vigorous young trees.
How fast does a locust tree grow?
Growth Rate This tree grows at a fast rate, with height increases of more than 24" per year.
Is a locust tree a good tree?
Locust trees are excellent for erosion control and tolerate urban pollution and road salt spray well, so they are good trees to plant on graded areas and near roads and driveways. Some locusts grow quite tall, so allow enough space between trees that they will not be crowded when they reach their mature height.
How much does a locust tree grow in a year?
Growth Rate – Black Locust Trees can grow up to 4′ per year when young. Typically 2′ per year once several years old. Black Locust Tree Growing Zone – Hardy from USDA zones 3-8.
Do locust trees have deep roots?
Honey locusts have strong, deep taproots that extend as far as 20 feet down as opposed to most trees, which only extend 3 to 7 feet beneath the surface However, unlike the classic tap root system, honey locust trees also have profusely branching roots, as is characteristic of heart root systems.
How close to a house can you plant a honey locust tree?
To get the most useful shade on the house at a practical distance, place the tree 15 to 20 feet from the house. Small trees may be planted closer than 15 feet, but large trees should be planted 20 feet or more away from the house.
Are locust trees messy?
Are honey locust trees messy? While honey locust trees drop both small leaflets from their compound leaves and purple seed pods, these drop around the same time in fall. The resulting mess is rather easy to clean-up, though the small leaflets are a bit difficult to manually rake.
Is locust tree invasive?
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust) is a deciduous tree (family Fabaceae) that grows to 100 feet tall. Historically planted as a landscape tree, black locust has escaped cultivation and become invasive in California and elsewhere.
How can you tell the difference between a black locust and a honey locust?
Honey locusts can be distinguished from Black Locusts by their longer, widespread thorns and longer seedpods. The bark of the two trees is also quite different in color and shape, and the Black Locusts flowers are large, showy white clusters, while those of the Honey Locust are creamy and insignificant.
Are locust trees valuable?
Black Locust wood contains natural organic compounds that resist rot for 100 years or more, which makes these trees an extremely valuable and environmentally friendly tree.
How do you trim a locust tree?
These trees should be pruned in fall after the leaves have dropped or in early spring, before the sap starts to flow (March). If needed, a few small branches can be removed in summer after the leaves have reached full size.
Do locust leaves make good mulch?
Very small leaves, such as those from honey locust or acacia, are already small enough to be used as mulch and do not need to be broken down, but shredding can still be used if desired. Shredded leaves aren't the prettiest mulch for your landscape, but they can be one of the most economical and effective options.
What is a locust tree?
The term “locust” can apply to several different species of trees with legume-like seed pods. Locust trees are from the Fabaceae (legumes or pea family) family native to North America. Different locust trees are classified as part of the Gleditsia or Robinia genera. Meaning locusts can be trees or shrubs. The most popular types of locust trees in ...
What are the most common types of locust trees?
The most popular types of locust trees in North America are called black locust and honey locust. In this article you’ll find all you need to know about their uses, popular varieties and related planting processes.
What are the problems with locust trees?
Problems with Locust Trees. In some areas, cankers and root collar rot are serious problems for honey locust trees. Cankers first appear as flattened or discolored surfaces on the branches and trunk of the tree. Over time, cankers can spread and completely girdle the tree, causing tree death.
Why are black locusts planted?
“These flowers are attractive to bees and provide a good source of nectar. Therefore, black locust trees are planted in regions where honeybees are operating to help them with their honey production.”.
How tall does a black locust robinia grow?
The black locust robinia tree can tolerate poor soil, drought, pollution, and even salt. Growing up to 70 feet tall and 30 feet wide in areas with lots of sun and moderate moisture levels. Black locust leaves are generally blue-green, small and oval, with short sharp thorns.
How tall does a shademaster honey locust tree grow?
The Shademaster honey locust tree has no thorns and grows faster than most locust trees. Reaching heights of 50 feet and upwards. One advantage of growing Shademasters is that they don’t produce fruits. Meaning they’re easier to maintain than other locust trees.
What type of locust is yellow?
The Imperial Honey Locust. This type of honey locust, also known as Impcole, grows to about 35 feet high. It has yellow-green flowers and feathery leaves that almost look like ferns. The leaves are green during spring and summer, yellow in the fall and shed in winter.
How big do locust trees get?
It is the largest of the locust tree variety, which can go up to 80 feet in height. The flowers are greenish-yellow in color and not so attractive as other locust trees. The flowers bloom in the late spring and early summer. It has the biggest and the fiercest of thorns. They come in branches and can be 20 inches long. The pods of the tree are largest in size ranging from 10 inches to 18 inches. Being that long and flat, often, the seed pods also get twisted. The tree derives its name, honey locust tree, because of the sweet taste of these pods. The USDA suggests zone 4 through 9 as being the most suitable for this species.
What are the characteristics of a locust tree?
The most prominent identification feature of a locust tree is its unique thorns, the pods, the sweetly fragrant flowers, and the leaves. In the spring, you can see sweet fragrant pea-shaped flowers hanging in clusters all over the tree. The flowers are generally white or pink in color.
How tall is a black locust?
The black locust has smaller pods: sized from two to four inches. The pods have a leathery texture and are dark red to black in color. Next to the honey locust, this is the tallest of the locust tree with a height of 70 feet. The thorns are present where the leaves join the stem.
What is the family of locusts?
The locust tree has many natural varieties and cultivars, and all of them belong to one of the two genera of the locust tree, namely, Robinia or Gleditsia. One of the most famous representatives of the Robinia genus is the Black Locust tree. The famous Honey locust tree belongs to the family Gedistisia.
How big are honey locust pods?
The pods of the tree are largest in size ranging from 10 inches to 18 inches. Being that long and flat, often, the seed pods also get twisted. The tree derives its name, honey locust tree, because of the sweet taste of these pods. The USDA suggests zone 4 through 9 as being the most suitable for this species.
What animals eat black locusts?
Animals, like cattle, deer, rabbits, and squirrels, love eating it. The black locusts have smaller pods of about 4 inches, but it contains up to 14 seeds. These pods are not edible. The Mexican locust tree and the bristly locust tree have smaller pods around 2 inches long with hairs on them.
What type of tree is a locust?
Types of Locust Tree: Identify Locust Trees with Pictures. Written by Lindsey Glenn in Tree. Locust trees belong to a family of flowering plants called Fabaceae, they are fast growing. The locust trees have good hardwood and extraordinarily colorful flowers, which bloom in spring.
Black Locust Tree Facts
Growth Rate – Black Locust Trees can grow up to 4′ per year when young. Typically 2′ per year once several years old.
Black Locust Native Range
The primary Native Range of Black Locust is centered in the Appalachian Mountains from Alabama to Pennsylvania, centered in Tennessee and West Virginia. However isolated pockets were also created during glacial retreat in Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas.
How to identify Black Locust Trees
Mature Black Locust Trees will grow on average 50′-80′ tall (15m-24m) and have an irregular crown shape. The branching on a Black Locust tree is typically upwards.
Thorns
Thorns occur along the smaller branches and twigs which are about 1/2″ long, and occur in pairs. These thorns are quite sharp, and can cause minor injury if you grab a branch or sapling.
Leaves
Black Locust Tree leaves are compound alternate leaves in an overall arrangement that is approximately 6-18″ long by ~4″ wide. The individual leaflets are about 1-2″ long by roughly half as wide, with a rounded shape. Leaves will have a light green color early, changing to blueish-green color when mature.
Flowers
In late Spring on Black Locust Trees, groups of white flowers will form and hang down from the branches in beautiful arrangements. The overall cluster will be 4-7″ long, and look like dangling cluster of pea-like flowers that are very fragrant. An individual flower is approximately 1″ long with 5 petals that are white in color.
Seed Production
The flowers will give way to seedpods that are approximately 2-4″ long by 1/2″ wide and hang down much like the preceding flowers. Each pod will contain roughly 2-12 seeds that are hard, 1/4″ diameter, and have a rounded shape but very flat.
Cultivation
Appearance
- The tree has attractive gray-brown bark and an open, graceful canopy with tiny, oval leaves. Unlike large-leaved trees, the lacey leaves of honey locust allow sunlight to filter to the ground below so grass and plants can grow. The fruit of the honey locust is a pod, which has edible pulp on the inside.
Symptoms
- In the fall, the leaves turn yellow. Because of their size, honey locust leaves are difficult to rake up, but they tend to dry up and blow away on their own eventually, although they can get tracked into the house if the tree is planted near an entryway.
Description
- Sunburst has yellow leaves that emerge in the spring and turn green as they mature. Shademaster has dark green foliage and open, ascending branches. Black locust trees grow 70 feet tall, although most trees range between 30 and 50 feet tall. The trees have small, blue-green leaves with a compound, alternate form like honey locust trees. In the spri...
Risks
- In some areas, cankers and root collar rot are serious problems for honey locust trees. Cankers first appear as flattened or discolored surfaces on the branches and trunk of the tree. Over time, cankers can spread and completely girdle the tree, causing tree death. Cankers also cause slow growth, yellowing leaves or sparse leaves. Root collar rot is a similar disorder that appears at th…
Prevention
- To prevent canker and root collar rot, keep trees vigorous and healthy. Water during dry periods, especially if the tree isnt in an irrigated lawn. Be careful when mowing around the tree not to injure the trunk because injuries provide an entry point for these diseases. Prune out infected branches, cutting limbs at least 12 inches below the infected area. Disinfect pruning tools between cuts wi…
Habitat
- Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is found throughout the United States in woodland areas and along stream banks. Like the honey locust, the black locust is a fast-growing, tough tree that tolerates drought, salt, pollution and poor soil. It grows best in full sun with moderate moisture.
Uses
- Black locust trees are known for their strong wood. Pioneers were said to have used the wood to make nails for building ships. Black locust wood makes a long burning firewood, as well, although the wood is difficult to cut. The wood is rot-resistant and makes excellent fence posts or raised beds. The trees are used infrequently as landscape trees for a few reasons. First, although the w…
Writing
- When shes not writing about gardening, food and canning, Julie Christensen enjoys spending time in her gardens, which include perennials, vegetables and fruit trees. Shes written hundreds of gardening articles for the Gardening Channel, Garden Guides and San Francisco Gate, as well as several e-books.