Gleditsia triacanthos Seeds | Honey Locust
LATIN NAME: Gleditsia triacanthos
COMMON NAME: Honey Locust
Plant Profile
Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) grows as a tree in the pea family. Honey locust is tree that open country planted for shade, for feed and for fence posts. Tree is one of great, tough trees of open country, giving light shade of park, street and the pasture. It is a tree of open, sunny, well-drained ground. For the small amount of care it requires, the return is remarkable.
Science & Biotechnology
Seed science, comparative botany and horticultural selection all touch on Gleditsia triacanthos, a representative of the pea family with clear practical value. Honey locust is a tough, thorny figure in plant science, studied for fine, airy leaves and way tree stands heat and poor ground. Raising it from seed today is a matter of ordinary good practice rather than specialist skill.
Uses & Benefits
In the garden, Honey Locust earns its place in borders, containers and mixed plantings, and it also rewards growers who raise plants for cutting, drying or kitchen use. Honey locust is a tall, thorny tree of open ground, with a fine record of hard use. Long, twisted pods carry sweet pulp, which has a long record as feed of stock of open country, and hard, durable wood is cut for fence posts, rails and small works of the farm. Tree gives light, dappled shade of park, street and pasture, and thornless forms are planted along avenues of warm world. Routine care after establishment is refreshingly light.
Honey locust pods were a sweet wildlife and livestock food, and its formidable thorns, Zao Jiao Ci, are a classical Chinese herb for moving stagnation; the thornless forms are premier street trees.
Growing from Seed
Starting Honey Locust from seed is simple and satisfying. Fill a pot with a light seed compost, sow evenly on the surface, cover thinly and stand it somewhere warm, bright and evenly moist. Prick the seedlings out once they are large enough to handle, grow them on in bright light, and plant out when conditions allow.
Our Take
Honey Locust earns its space through character rather than fuss. Once established, Honey Locust largely looks after itself. The only critical period is germination, when the compost must stay evenly moist.
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