# Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos)

> A medium-large tree with a broad, flat-topped crown of fine, fern-like leaves that cast light, filtered shade and turn yellow in fall. Wild trees have fierce branched thorns and long twisted pods, but almost every nursery tree is a thornless, nearly seedless cultivar such as 'Skyline', 'Shademaster' or 'Imperial'. It was the standard replacement for American elms and was overplanted, so many cities now limit it, but it remains a tough, salt-tolerant street tree.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/gleditsia-triacanthos · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Honey locust, Thornless honeylocust
- Family: Fabaceae
- Type: Broadleaf, drops leaves
- Mature height: 20 m; spread 15 m
- Growth: Fast growing; lives about 125 years
- USDA hardiness zones: 3 to 8
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Low water
- Soil: Wide range of soils and moisture, acid to alkaline, including compacted and salted urban soil
- Native range: Central and eastern United States from Iowa and Nebraska to Pennsylvania and south through the Gulf states to eastern Texas, with rare native stands in southern Ontario.

**Benefits:** Shade, Fast canopy, Drought tolerant, Salt tolerant, Flood tolerant, Fall color, Wildlife, Pollinators

**Good for:** Street tree, Yard shade, parks

**Watch out for:** Thorns, Messy fruit, Pest prone, Invasive elsewhere

## Care

Transplants well; plant in full sun and water the first season. Prune in fall or winter. Watch for honeylocust plant bug, mimosa webworm (especially on thornless cultivars), spider mites, cankers and borers; mowing damage encourages sprouting on wild trees.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** ON, Canada (Rare native in extreme southern Ontario; USDA PLANTS lists it as native in Canada.); United States (Native from Pennsylvania and Iowa south to Texas and the Gulf states (more than 15 states); naturalized in New England.)
- **Recommended:** Toronto, ON, Canada ('Skyline' honey locust is on Toronto's list of species planted on streets.); Denver, CO, United States (On the Denver Office of the City Forester Approved Street Tree List); Washington, DC, United States (On the Casey Trees Tree Rebate eligible species list); Boston, MA, United States (On the City of Boston Urban Forestry Division recommended public street trees list); New York, NY, United States (On the NYC Parks Street Tree Planting Approved Species List); Portland, OR, United States ('Skyline', 'Shademaster' and 'Halka' honeylocust are on Portland's list for 6.0 to 8.4 ft planting strips.); Dallas, TX, United States (On the City of Dallas Article X Approved Tree List)

## Sources

- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/gleditsia-triacanthos/
- https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/honey-locust/
- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/GLTR
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleditsia_triacanthos