Gleditsia triacanthos
Honeylocust
Mature Size, Growth, Longevity
30-80' tall & wide. Gets to over 100' in the wild. Has a short trunk, & an open-spreading crown, Fast growing, 2' or more per year. Medium longevity; usually lives 100-200 years.
Native Range
Kentucky Native — .Native to east-central U.S., Pennsylvania to Nebraska, south to Texas & Mississippi, including all of Kentucky
Flower and Fruit Details
Flowers: polygamo-dioecious, perfect & imperfect flowers on same tree, greenish-yellow, April-June, fragrant & nectar laden, but not showy. Trees are primarily male or primarily female, but even "male" trees produce some fruit pods. Fruits start out green, become reddish-brown to blackish pods, strap-shaped, 7-18" long, 1" wide, containing hard seeds that are oval, shiny, dark brown. Creates a lot of litter when they fall.
Leaf and Bark Features
Deciduous: Leaves are alternate, 6-8" long, bright glossy green, pinnately compound (w/ 20-30 oblong-lanceolate leaflets) or bi-pinnately compound (w/ 8-14 pinnae), w/ a pubescent and grooved rachis. Leaflets are 1/3-1 1/.2" long and 3/16-5/8" wide. Base of petiole is swollen, enclosing the bud. Clear yellow to yellow-green fall color. Once of the earliest trees to color up in the fall and drop its leaves. Bark on old trees grayish-brown, broken up into long, narrow, longitudinal and superficially scaly ridges which are separated by deep furrows. Numerous, long, sharp, multi-branched, 3-16" thorns cover the trunk, branches and stems.
Culture and Care
Plant in full sun. Not tolerant of shade. Highly adaptable to a wide range of conditions, & tolerant of heat, drought, high pH, de-icing salt, mine spoils, & soil compaction. Extremely adaptable. Tolerates pH 6.1-7.5. Zone 4-9. Intermediate flood tolerance. Performs well in clay, sand or loam. Susceptible to leaf spot, cankers, witches' broom, powdery mildew, rust, honeylocust borer, midge pod gall, mimosa webworm and spider mites.
Strengths, Weaknesses, Other Facts
The open spreading branching and the fine textured foliage with small leaflets allows filtered light under the tree, allowing turfgrass and other plants to grow well underneath. 3-season interest: Spring, summer & fall. Overused and disease prone. Thorns are hazardous.
Suggested Uses
Due to the abundance of hazardous, sharp thorns, this tree (the straight species) is not normally used in home landscapes. Could be used in natural landscaping or environmental restoration, however. .
Taxa and Plants of this Species at BCA
The following taxa are (or were) represented in the collections at Boone County Arboretum. Additional taxa may be available in the trade that are not included here.
Gleditsia triacanthos 'Sunburst' // Sunburst Honeylocust
Tree. Thornless. Growth habit is broad-pyramidal, growing to 30-35' tall and wide. New foliage of spring leafs out bright, golden-yellow, and is quite stunning in the sunshine. Leaves gradually change to greenish-yellow, and then bright green for summer, changing to yellow once again in the fall. This is a fruitless/seedless male. Also known as 'Suncole'. Susceptible to Nectria canker disease.
BT001553 - BT001554 - BT001555Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis // Thornless Honeylocust
Tree. 30-70' tall and wide. Thornless. Often used in tough, urban settings, for landscapes as a shade tree or specimen tree, and in parking lot islands. A viable shade/specimen option for many locations, but more variety is needed in parking lots. Considering its susceptibility to various insects and diseases, it is probably overused, and should not be planted as a monoculture.
BT000060 - BT000070 - BT000080 - BT000090Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis 'Skyline' // Skyline Thornless Honeylocust
Tree. Thornless. Habit is more upright than most forms, pyramidal, with ascending branches at 60-90 degree angles. A compact grower, 45' tall and 35' wide. Leaflets are dark green, changing to a bright golden yellow fall color. Grows about 2' per year. Essentially fruitless. One of the most cold-hardy cultivars. Also known as 'Skycole'. A Cole introduction with good form & shape.
BT005950 - BT005960Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis 'Street Keeper' // Street Keeper Honeylocust
Tree. Thornless. A tight, narrow habit, 45' tall and only 18' wide, with a dominant central leader, and good, strong crotch angles. Foliage is darker green than most cultivars. Most years, this tree will produce no fruits/seeds, so it is essentially fruitless. Yellow fall color. Also known as 'Draves', since it was discovered by Tom Draves, near Darien, New York, then introduced by Brotzman Nursery in 2010.
BT001814