Common Hackberry
Celtis occidentalis Large tree Zones 3–9 40–60 ft
Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Honeylocust
Gleditsia triacanthos. Large tree, 30 to 80 feet, zones 3 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.
We do not grow honeylocust, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Thornless honeylocust, sweet locust, thorny locust, common honeylocust, honey shucks locust, sweet bean tree |
|---|---|
| Form | Large tree |
| Height, feet | 30 to 80 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 80 |
| Zones | 3 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, honey tree, hedge or screen, salt tolerant, erosion control |
| Flowers | May to June |
| Fruit | Pods, September to February |
| First crop | About 10 years (best from 25 to 75) |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Most honeylocusts are male or female, with a few flowers that carry both parts, so pods come mainly on female trees with a male nearby. |
| Lifespan | Lives up to 169 years. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on honeylocust marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Black walnut | Tolerant, on the Morton Arboretum's list as “honey-locust” |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, stream banks, dry uplands, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 27 states |
Honeylocust is native in 27 states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming and the District of Columbia, where it is naturalized, not native.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it flowers and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of honeylocust's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Slippery Elm
Ulmus rubra Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Western Soapberry
Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii Medium tree Zones 5–9 20–50 ft
Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Winged Elm
Ulmus alata Medium tree Zones 6–9 40–60 ft
Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
American Elm
Ulmus americana Large tree Zones 2–9 60–80 ft
Shares floodplain forests, stream banks, old fields and edges in the wild.
Black Gum (Tupelo)
Nyssa sylvatica Large tree Zones 4–9 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests, dry uplands, old fields and edges in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the US Forest Service and the University of Illinois Extension.