What are honey locust good for?

Honey locust wood is easily split, capable of obtaining a high luster finish, and is durable when in contact with soil. For these reasons, timber from honey locust has been used as fence posts, railroad ties, furniture, warehouse or shipping pallets, tool handles and fuel.

How long will a honey locust live?

Honeylocust is usually described as rapid-growing [8,39]. Average longevity for honeylocust is 125 years [8]. Unlike most leguminous species, honeylocust does not form Rhizobium nodules on its roots, and does not fix nitrogen [12].

Is honey locust tree good for backyard?

Honey locusts are a popular choice for courtyards and patios too. Because they are a pioneer species in agricultural fields, they can lend a rural feel to a design, like in this photo. Also, you can grow shade-tolerant grasses and plants underneath them because of their dappled light.

Is a honey locust tree a good tree?

Thornless honeylocust trees are a good tree choice for a yard. The dappled shade is not as dense as shade that is provided from other tree choices with larger leaves. This will allow turf to grow better underneath the shade of this tree.

Why is it called honey locust?

The thornless honeylocust is native from Pennsylvania to Nebraska and south to Texas. The first scientific observations of this species were made in 1700. The tree derives the name “Honey” from the sweet, honey-like substance found in its pods.

Do squirrels eat honey locust seeds?

Wildlife Uses of Honey Locust Despite the thorns, this tree is beneficial to a lot of wildlife. White-tailed deer, squirrels, rabbits, opossums, crows, starlings, Bobwhite quail, and raccoons will eat the bean pods and it is a good source of nutrition for them in early fall to winter.

How deep are honey locust roots?

10 to 20 feet
Honey locust trees have a taproot reaching deep into the soil (10 to 20 feet) and an extensive system of lateral, shallow roots that can interfere with lawn mowing.

Are honey locust trees valuable?

Honeylocust, despite the nasty thorns, does produce beautifully colored lumber; however, honeylocust is traditionally considered a low to lower value species — especially by timber buyers. However, honeylocust lumber sawn and sold by custom sawmill operators is often sold for a premium price.

Is a honey locust tree messy?

Are honey locust trees messy? While honey locust trees drop both small leaflets from their compound leaves and purple seed pods, these drop around the same time in fall. The resulting mess is rather easy to clean-up, though the small leaflets are a bit difficult to manually rake.

Why is it called a honey locust?

Are honey locust flowers edible?

The honey locust (whose flowers look very different) apparently produces edible seed pods. I don’t live in an area where they grow, so I cannot attest to this. The honey locust has thorns growing from the bark. For the black locust, the flowers are the edible portion.