# Honey Tree Trio

> Three native honey trees grown from seed: black locust in May, black gum through June, basswood for two weeks in June. Full sun, zones 4 to 8, room to grow.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/honey-trio/

Three of the finest nectar trees in eastern North America. Black locust and basswood give the lightest, most sought-after honeys; black gum flowers between them and colors scarlet in fall.

## Plants in the set

- [Black Gum (Tupelo)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-gum/index.html.md) (*Nyssa sylvatica*): Large tree, zones 4 to 9, 40 to 70 ft, not yet priced online. Blazing scarlet fall color, superb bee forage, and one of the longest-lived hardwoods in the East.
- [Black Locust](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-locust/index.html.md) (*Robinia pseudoacacia*): Large tree, zones 4 to 8, 40 to 70 ft, not yet priced online. Fragrant white flower clusters in May, the source of the lightest and most prized honey in the East.
- [American Basswood (Linden)](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-basswood/index.html.md) (*Tilia americana*): Large tree, zones 3 to 8, 60 to 90 ft, not yet priced online. The bee tree: a broad shade tree whose fragrant June flowers hum with pollinators.

## Why these three go together

Black locust and American basswood give the two lightest, most sought-after honeys in the East, and black gum is a good honey tree in its own right. What makes them a set is the calendar: black locust opens in May, black gum flowers through May and June, and basswood comes last, for about two weeks in June, so a hive near the three has a heavy flow for the better part of two months. The native bees that work the same flowers get the same run.

They also divide the work of a yard. Black locust is fast and fixes its own nitrogen, so it is the first to reach flowering size; basswood becomes the broad shade tree; black gum is slow, one of the longest-lived hardwoods in the East, and turns scarlet in fall when the other two are yellow.

## Where it fits

All three want full sun, and black gum and basswood take light shade. Black locust and black gum stand dry ground; basswood wants average moisture; black gum is the one for a wet corner as well. Together they are hardy in zones 4 through 8 (basswood alone reaches zone 3, black gum zone 9).

These are large trees, 40 to 90 feet at maturity, so allow 30 feet between them and from the house, and keep them clear of overhead wires. Black locust suckers from the roots and carries spines on its young wood, so it belongs at the far edge of the planting rather than beside a path.

## Planting the trio

Plant dormant saplings from leaf fall until the buds swell, in holes wider than the roots and no deeper, and cage or tube each one for three years against deer. Water weekly through the first summer when rain is short. None of the three needs fertilizer; black locust makes its own nitrogen.

Expect flowers on the locust within a few years, and on basswood and black gum once they have made a crown. A hive can go in the year the locust first blooms.

Order the plants individually from their pages, or email captain@bluewhaletrees.com to have the whole set put together at the sizes on hand.

## Other bundles

- [Shade Understory Pack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/shade-understory/index.html.md): Five plants that are happiest under a canopy of oaks: flowers from March to November, fruit for thrushes, and the host plants of two swallowtails. 5 plants.
- [Wet Spot Pack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/wet-spot/index.html.md): For the corner where the lawn drowns every spring. Every plant here tolerates standing water, and together they give fragrance, winter berries and year-round structure. 6 plants.
- [Dry Sandy Site Pack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/dry-sandy/index.html.md): Pine-barrens and prairie toughness for sand, gravel and drought: two shrub oaks, two fruit plants, prairie leadplant and the best fall color on a dry bank. 6 plants.
- [Native Edible Orchard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/edible-orchard/index.html.md): A food forest from native species only: fruit from June to October, nuts in the fall, and no spray program. 6 plants.
- [Bird & Berry Hedgerow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/bird-hedgerow/index.html.md): A mixed native hedge that fruits from June through the following March, with dense cover for nesting and thorns at the edges. 7 plants.
- [Rare Oak Collection](https://bluewhaletrees.com/bundles/rare-oak-collection/index.html.md): Five oaks almost nobody grows, from two-foot scrub oaks to an eighty-foot bottomland giant. A living collection for a large property or a conservation planting. 5 plants.