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Honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos
Honeylocust is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Honeylocust
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–9. Expect it to reach about 49 ft tall and 39 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 20 years (not yet checked).
No toxicity note is on file for Honeylocust. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What this means
Written with AI assistance and not yet checked plant by plant against recorded sources, so treat every fact above as a starting point. Its scientific name was checked against botanical registries, an audit keeps its values consistent with the rest of the library, and a July 2026 review re-read the main facts of every plant then in the library against horticultural authorities without recording a source for each, which is why none of that counts as checked here. The source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open, and a checked plant says so in this row.
When to plant Honeylocust
Plant Honeylocust in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 9, spring means March to May and fall means August or September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in March. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Honeylocust get?
49 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult39 ftwideSee Honeylocust in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Honeylocust
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Honeylocust about 39 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Honeylocust to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Good to know about Honeylocust
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
Worth knowing
The fine ferny canopy casts light dappled shade open enough that turf grows beneath it, and the tiny leaflets sift into the lawn so it needs little raking. per NC State
Size depends on the type
The wild species reaches 18 to 24 m, but the thornless landscape cultivars you actually plant stay smaller, commonly 9 to 14 m. per NC State
Plant a thornless cultivar
Almost all planted honeylocust is the thornless, podless var. inermis (Latin 'unarmed'), such as 'Shademaster' or 'Skyline'. The thorny, messy wild species is not recommended. per Morton Arboretum
Tough, adaptable urban tree
One of the toughest city trees: it tolerates salt, drought, wind, soil compaction, poor soils, heat, air pollution and even periodic flooding. per University of Illinois
Avoid 'Sunburst' where pests threaten
Mimosa webworm is often the worst pest, webbing and browning the foliage. 'Sunburst' is very susceptible; 'Moraine', 'Skyline' and 'Shademaster' resist it better. per NC State
Clean gold fall color
Foliage turns gold to clear yellow in autumn, sometimes fading to cream or tan, a reliable and clean fall display. per NC State
What pairs well with Honeylocust
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Perennial Sunflower
Shares full sun and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; both are North American natives.
Joe Pye Weed
Shares full sun and moderate to high water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; both are North American natives.
Sneezeweed
Shares full sun and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; both are North American natives.
Arborvitae
Shares full sun and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; both are North American natives.
Douglas Fir
Shares full sun and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; both are North American natives.
Eastern White Pine
Shares full sun and moderate water; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; both are North American natives.
Feather Reed Grass
Shares full sun and moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Little Bluestem
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; both are North American natives.
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Design a garden with this
Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.