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Thoughts on honey locust problems

2 years ago

I've always loved honey locusts for their form and leaves that don't make too much of a mess. I was planning on painting a couple at our new house, although the more I look I've been seeing a lot of things about honey locust diseases due to over planting. In my current neighborhood there are not a lot of honey locusts (and I've always thought of them as a trouble-free tree, I had one of my old house I never had any problems), but I'm also hesitant to plant a tree that is going to cause problems. I'm still traumatized from all the ash trees being cut down in our area a number of years ago.
I know that no tree is without issues, although I'm worried that honey locusts will be the next big tree problem. Any thoughts?

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
2 years ago
give us a big city name... it helps us understanding where you are.. and what plants might be better ...

also.. a shot of your new house would help ... do you have a big enough front lawn to plant more than one tree .. far enough away from the house so as to not be a problem too soon in the future ...

and by new house.. do you mean construction. or just new to you ... are you selecting off a builder list of crumby trees.. lol ..

ken
Carolyn
Original Author
2 years ago
I'm south of Chicago and have a big yard with no trees. It's not new construction, just new to me.
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Here in flood prone St. Louis twice a day sounds extreme as well. philipk65, what part of California are you in? Believe it or not the only part of CA I've visited is Death Valley lol. 14 years old might be a pretty decent sized tree. Is this like a 20 or 30 foot specimen? Normally for my small transplants I can stick my fingers in the ground to tell if they need water. Do you check your dirt to see if it needs that much irrigation? **************** Escaping my fascination with areas not in the Missouri & Mississippi River floodplane... **************** Some trees, my black walnuts, my neighbor's Box Elder, just always are ready to drop leaves. While I've never noticed the Locust trees in St. Louis dumping leaves it must be more common out your way. Personally I doubt there is much you can or should do.
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pennlake
2 years ago
Yes, honeylocust is probably over planted in the midwest especially in commercial plantings. Research any tree and you will find a list of diseases and pests it could get, but I think HL are relatively trouble free when planted in a suitable location. Having 4 around my house I can also say they are also easy to clean up after in the fall. Another I'd recommend if you like light shade is Kentucky Coffee Tree. If you can find one of the male clones like Espresso, True North or Skinny Latte you won't get the seed pods.
bengz6westmd
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
My honeylocust has been trouble free and a very fast grower. One thing is that if there aren't any others nearby, there's prb'ly less chance of diseases. I notice black locusts that are isolated from other black locusts have less problems. Mine's over 50 ft tall with an upright form after 17 years -- here in a rain shower alongside a longleaf pine.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
Let's be careful with common names. Honey locust = Gleditsia tricanthos. Black locust = Robinia pseudoacacia. Different trees (but both natives) with different problems :-) However, aside from the weedy, invasive properties of the Robinia and its susceptibility to locust borers, none are overly serious.

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