Georama Growers Sunburst Honey Locust – Georama Growers Plant of the Week
Common Name: Sunburst Honey Locust
Botanical Name: Gleditsia Triacanthos
Here is an award winning tree! First introduced in the 1950’s the Sunburst Locust won the prestigious Award of Garden Merit in 2002. It is one of the very best yellow foliaged trees you will find. Although originally found in wet or even swampy areas this smaller, rounded tree does well in much drier and free draining soils. It is somewhat slow to leaf out in spring but, when it does it is a sight to behold. The new foliage starts out a bright, almost lemon yellow, and turns into an attractive greenish-yellow during the summer. For fall it once again assumes the beautiful colour it first had in early spring. Their canopy is light and airy, and it is this quality that makes them good lawn trees, since they will not provide too much shade for the grass beneath! Besides being drought tolerant, Sunburst Honey Locusts, adapt well to pollution and compacted soils, making them excellent as street trees in an urban landscape. The city of Nelson has planted these trees in various locations downtown in the mid 80’s and they continue to thrive today. The common name comes from the sweet gummy substance found in the seed pods of the common Honey Locust, but the Sunburst Locust is not only podless, but thornless as well, making it such a great choice for our landscape.
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