Gleditsia triacanthos     
Honey locust   
Fabaceae Family     

Form: spreading, open, rounded-crown tree, single trunk
Seasonality: deciduous
Size: 30-70ft elsewhere, with spread 2/3 height; does not reach maximum height in Tucson
Leaves: bipinnately compound; oval leaflets; golden in fall
Flowers: small clusters, racine of inconspicuous whitish-green flowers
Fruit: dark brown pod, 6-8in long, curled; round seed
Stems/Trunks: grayish brown, smooth when young, more furrowed with age
Range/Origin: central US
Hardiness: well below 32°F

Gleditsia triacanthos on the Pima College campus

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• too large for residential use
• parks, medians, large landscapes
• woodsy effect

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Exposure: full sun, reflected heat
• Water: moderate to high; water every month, or every 10 days during hot season
• Soil: okay in clay; amendments not required; best in low-lying areas with deep uniform soil where roots can get water from water table
• Propagation: seed, viability is variable; usually grafted
• Maintenance: moderate; leaf (midrib) and pod cleanup, branch pruning and training when young

NOTES:

better in in Sierra Vista or Nogales than in Tucson
other varieties have thorns
new leaves on var. 'Golden" are naturally yellow (not chlorotic)

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This page was first created August 24, 2001 and last modified February 11, 2006.

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Web page design and photographs by Toni Moore, Master Gardener
email to: tmoore1@flash.net

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