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Gleditsia triacanthos



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Gleditsia triacanthos
Common honeylocust

Culture: This adaptable tree is easy to transplant, tolerates a wide range of soils, and is pollution and salt spray tolerant. Unfortunately, because of all of these qualities the tree has been overplanted, and many problems are being discovered. One such example is evident on the University of Illinois campus, where hundreds of trees were removed and replaced with different species due to Gandoderma root rot.

Webworm is probably the most severe common pest to affect this species, but there are also problems with leaf spot, canker, mildew, rust, witches' broom, borers, mites, and galls.

Usage: The fine texture of this tree and the lightly filtered shade that it provides seems to make it the ideal tree to have around the patio. Who could ask for more than a tree that doesn't make a mess in autumn and is relatively tolerant of most site problems? Because of the problems associated with this species, it is best to use insect resistant cultivars or choose a different species altogether.

 
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