Eve's Necklace

Size, growth and what to expect

Eve's necklace grows at a medium pace, about a foot and a half a year in our growth estimator. Expect 15 to 30 feet with an upright, oval crown 10 to 20 feet wide, often on several trunks. It is a short-lived tree.

Fragrant, rose-pink flowers hang in clusters like wisteria from March to May. The black pods, pinched between the seeds like a string of beads, ripen in late summer and fall and hang on into winter. Birds nest in its branches.

It grows wild from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana to north central and central Texas, mostly on limestone. It is found on rocky uplands, wooded slopes, stream banks, floodplains and roadsides. NatureServe ranks it imperiled to vulnerable in Arkansas and vulnerable in Oklahoma.

How to grow Eve's Necklace

Eve's necklace grows in full sun, part shade or the shade of taller trees, but it flowers most in full sun. In dense shade it grows thin and almost vine-like. It takes clay, loam, sand and limestone soils, acid or alkaline. It stands heat and drought, but its soil must drain well, or its leaves turn yellow. Plant it 15 feet from a wall and at least 15 feet from overhead wires, and set trees 10 feet apart.

Saplings ship bare-root or potted. Plant them dormant, from leaf fall until bud swell, in a hole wider than the roots and no deeper. Set the root flare at the soil line, put the native soil back in, and keep the mulch clear of the trunk. Each seed has a hard coat, so nick it with a knife or file through the coat, then soak it in warm water until it swells. Sow it half an inch deep once the soil has warmed in spring. Seed that is only soaked, without nicking, comes up unevenly over two years.

Water weekly through the first summer, then only in long droughts. Keep mowers and string trimmers off the trunk, since the thin bark is easily damaged. Guard young trees with a tube or cage where deer are many, though deer browse it only moderately. Prune the low branches where people or cars must pass, or let it grow with several trunks.

Each flower carries both male and female parts, so there are no male and female plants to pair. Bees visit the flowers, which last about two weeks. It has no serious pests or diseases, but its roots send up suckers. The flowers and seeds are poisonous if eaten, and the seeds can cause vomiting and diarrhea, so keep them from children.