Black Locust Seedling

Robinia pseudoacacia

Prohibited to Maine.

No well-run homestead in America was without a grove of Black locust; in fact, of all the trees favored by our colonial predecessors, both as an ornamental and as a utilitarian tree, the native Black locust is perhaps the most significant. This is a very fast-growing tree that has many uses – it’s a nitrogen fixer and a good choice to plant with Black walnut or Chestnut in a woodlot. The wood is famously rot resistant, and makes dense, long-burning firewood. Flowers are excellent bee forage. 

In a woodlot or as a windbreak, plant the trees 10 feet apart. It grows too big (30′ or more) to make a good hedge. Trees can begin to be thinned and harvested for firewood and rot resistant posts in 8 to 12 years. The thorny trees will send up root suckers which also grow into trees, even after a mature tree is cut. This way they replant themselves. 

USDA Zone: 4-8

Grow Height:  30′ (Standard)

Sun: Full Sun

Ripening Time: N/A

Pollination: N/A