Honey locust, Gleditsia triacanthos

[yuccaman]

I have 4 of these trees in my yard. They are not thorny and they rarely get seed pods.They have small leaves and they don't need to be raked much. Does anyone have these trees?

[desertdave]

Honey locust is so overplanted in Boise. They are as ubiquitous here (and in many other communities) as Washy's are in LA. Makes me wish that Washy's grew here... Maybe someone (me?) should try Chinese pistache or some of the other tougher street trees that they use in California here. Honey locust's sheer numbers are attracting borer bugs in some areas. I don't know if they are in Boise yet but in many larger cities esp. east of the Rockies have lots of them, often to the point that the trees begin to decline. Also I had a neighbor who had a 50 foot tall one in their backyard and they cut it down. It then kept coming up from the roots for about five or six years until they were finally able to kill it. They aren't really that good of a street tree and do not tolerate intense heat very well esp. reflected heat. Those along streets often defoliate here by August during hot summers. Lucky for you, you have the non-thorny ones! There was a thorn one in my high school's parking lot, they are vicious! Honey locust has many fine attributes, but its shortcomings and overuse would keep me from using it. If you are happy with yours keep them though; they are one of the few popular trees that stay attractive as they get larger, and they will usu. thrive in a yard, especially if watered.

Along those same lines, the line about the locust borer bugs shows the risks of urban monocultures, like elms in the old days, sycamores after that, and even to an extent Washy's in LA. Disease and bugs can spread rampantly in a place where everything is the same species.

[yuccaman]

Altough these trees are rare in my area they produce big seed pods and some seeds get blowed in the wind and the start growing to trees in areas were we don't want trees.Mine are almost podless but I saw a big one. They germinate fast and they grow fast in my area.I get huge spiders from them and the land on me all the time. I don't want to chop mine down because they give good shade and they have a little subtropical look.



I planted these a 22 years ago and they are getting big. These trees also drop alot of leaves and they are extremly hard to rake but if on a driveway its more easy.Im glad that they are rare in my area.