The defense mechanisms of Honey Locust trees are similar to porcupines. We chat about fascinating trees, their benefits, and thornless varieties.
Plus how the docile porcupine can be a nuisance in the garden, and ways to move them along.
Related Stories (and Episodes) and Helpful Links:
Honey Locust – the Porcupine of Trees
Three Sisters Gardening & Jolee’s Emergency
Also featured in Ep 28. Three Sisters, No-Till Gardening
More Tips on How to Get Rid of Porcupines
USDA Honey Locust Plant Fact Sheet
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I'd love to hear about your garden and nature stories. And your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. You can email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. Thanks so much for tuning in.
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Episode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast Page
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Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden Designer
AskMaryStone.com
More about the Podcast and Column:
Welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights, and Discoveries.
It's not only about gardens; it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from mother nature, and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So, let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Thanks for tuning in, Mary Stone
Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com
Direct Link to Podcast Page
Ep 138. Honey Locust the Porcupine of Trees
Sat, Dec 09, 2023 11:59AM • 9:14
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
porcupine, honey locust, trees, garden, seed pods, plants, locusts, spikes, grow, year, quills, dappled shade, honey, overwinter, varieties, nature, flowers, works, birds, mary stone, garden, nature, inspiration
SPEAKERS
Mary Stone
Mary Stone 00:00
Hello fellow lovers of all things green. I'm Mary Stone and welcome to Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries. It's not only about gardens, it's about nature's inspirations, about grasping the glories of the world around us, gathering what we learned from Mother Nature and carrying these lessons into our garden of life. So let's jump in in the spirit of learning from each other. We have lots to talk about.
Mary Stone 00:26
Hello there, it's Mary Stone on a very cold screen porch. And I have a cold, so my voice sounds a little spotty. That is why, but I am feeling better, and I'm grateful for that. Anyway, I want to thank those that reached back after last week's chat about Overwintering Potted Perennials, which also pertains to potted shrubs and trees. On Friday we are digging up recently planted Daubs Frost to Juniper that will grow too large for the spot. And my new clients will overwinter them as we discussed last week, and they'll plant them Kathleen's folks’ home. We always like to save plants and replant them where they are better suited, don't we? I look forward to this week's story about Honey Locust Trees and how they are like Porcupines which can be a garden pest never mind a hazard for our pets and livestock. Although they fascinate me. And it starts like this.
Mary Stone 01:20
Hello fellow readers and listeners. A few asked about the long been looking things I used to decorate my window boxes. They're slightly twisted about eight inches long, nifty rusted color, with a lovely sheen. I pilfer them from along the road on a walk with Miss Ellie And now Jolee. It's true. I do this every year. It's very fun. And this year, it's a bumper crop and they're longer than usual, which is likely due to the rainy summer. The honey locust from which they came, Gleditsia triacanthos, looks imposing this time of year. Its sharp spikes are prominent when the tree is naked of leaves. The trees remind me of a porcupine, a docile creature until they need to use their quills for protection. There's a photo by the way on the column post with a native honey locust spikes dusted in snow that is so dramatic looking and of course I'll put a link in the show notes. It's remarkable how nature creates mechanisms to protect critters and plants from predators.
Mary Stone 02:21
Honey locusts’ spikes evolved to protect the tree from being browsed. The two-to-four-inch spikes are often clustered along the trunk and spread out along the branches. They start soft in green before they harden to reddish brown then shift to gray. Thickets of Honey Locust provide a protective cover for animals and birds. And like the porcupine, the spikes are harmless until you tamper with the tree. And other times of year the roadside honey locusts catches my eye too, especially in the fall when it turns a golden yellow. Its shaggy clusters of leaflets look almost fuzzy, becoming like a big bird in the landscape. Then with the leaves drop the twisted seed pods hang like ornaments.
Mary Stone 03:02
The sweet pulp of the seed pods gives the honey locusts this common name. Other common names are honey shucks sweet locust, Thorn Tree, thorny locust and sweet bean, which I hadn't known. As beautiful as it is, the native honey locust is not typically available in the trades because of the spikes, though you can buy thornless varieties and you can also find the thornless variety growing in the wild. They were once considered an ideal lawn tree writes Michael Dirr in the go to Manual of Woody Plants. They're fast growing, two feet a year, and provide dappled shade which allows grass to grow below it. However, they're overused has lessened their popularity. Although the USDA seems to debate Dirr and writes thornless and fruitless varieties have been developed by the horticultural industry and are used extensively in landscaping. The trees are very hearty and are often used in parking lot islands and along sidewalks, and again, that's because of the dappled shade which allows grass to grow below.
Mary Stone 04:03
White tailed deer, possums, raccoons, squirrels, and rabbits feast on the bean pods, as do goats and cattle who, along with sheep, also like tender shoots in spring and the bark of young trees. I'm smiling here because Mary likes them too picking them up along the road. Anyway, honey locust is native from Pennsylvania to Iowa and South to Georgia and Texas, growing 30 to 70 feet high and wide and zone three to nine. It prefers six hours of direct sunlight daily, but it's remarkably adaptable. Tolerating all types of soil salt pollution, and other urban stresses, as well as moderate flooding and drought. It's ideal for slope sites in need of erosion control. They can live to be 120 years old, which is short lived and tree years. And while it's flowers aren't showy but they’re fragrant and magnets for pollinators.
Mary Stone 04:56
An associate nurserymen Ben Jansen of EP Jansen Nursery says the flowers can create two inches of petal debris when they drop - a nuisance to some. He described honey locusts as opportunistic but not aggressive with shallow root systems that go well beyond their canopy if needed. Ben sells primarily Skyline, with a few seed pods and excellent yellow fall color. He also sells Shade Master, without flowers or seeds and Sunburst, which is Golden Sunburst, also thornless and seedless. Despite the thorns, I'll plant the seeds come spring and see what miracles occur. It occurs to me that snagging the seed pods and bringing them elsewhere is much like how birds and other critters transport seeds from here to there in nature. Nature's way of sharing gifts and growing them forward. May we all do the same. Garden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com.
Mary Stone 05:53
Speaking of porcupines, you may remember in Episode 28 Three Sisters no till gardening. Dear Jolee stepped on a baby porcupine while on a hike and how kind passersby stepped in to help us. We literally had to do surgery in the field, which was so difficult, but boy, we got through it and so did Jolee and to this day, she allows me to wipe her feet so that was a thing, because it was so dramatic for this young puppy.
Mary Stone 06:24
Anyway, porcupines are primarily nocturnal, active at night, and don't hibernate during winter. It was March when Jolee stepped on the baby. And its winter when they wreak havoc on trees by eating the bark and evergreen needles, which is why they are often found in wooded areas. During the growing season they can damage your garden. They adore root vegetables and are attracted to salt and even sweat from your garden gloves or horse saddles, which was interesting to learn. In the summer they eat twigs, buds, leaves, roots, tubers, grass, berries, fruit, inner bark, and other vegetation. Apple trees and maple oak and ash and Aspen are their favorites. And in autumn porcupines eat acorns, hickory nuts and Beech nuts. And while they don't see well, they have an excellent sense of smell.
Mary Stone 07:14
Rumor has it they can throw their quills which is not true. It's only when you make contact that you get quilled. By the way, don't try to remove quills from your dog's feet or cat sleet. We really should have gone to a veterinarian but as the story tells you in the episode I referred to, Curt is actually a vet tech, and we were two miles away from the parking lot so we really had no choice and all worked out well.
Mary Stone 07:38
Should they become invaders in your garden, capturing them in an animal trap and moving them works well. And there are products such as Critter Ridder that they say works. Or hot sauce, (capsaicin, which is a chili pepper extract) on plants and trees can prevent porcupine damage and deter them from your yard and garden. But of course, wash your produce if you try to use a hot pepper spray before you indulge in your fruit or vegetable. Better yet, installing electric fencing can do the trick. I'll put a link in the show notes for more helpful information on porcupine controls.
Mary Stone 08:13
They are such docile creatures, and I do really adore them and it's true. They're really not active during the day. Although I've seen them a few times. I think I disturb them when I hike along the Appalachian Trail. Thank you so much for visiting with me each week on the screen porch. I so enjoy our time together and I hope you have as well and if so, I would so appreciate it if you could share the podcast with a friend or two so more can find us and learn and grow in the garden of life. It means so much. Have a great day.
Mary Stone 08:44
You can follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook or online at Garden Dilemmas.com and on Instagram and hashtag Mary Elaine Stone. Garden Dilemmas, Delights and Discoveries is produced by Alex Bartling. Thanks for coming by. I look forward to chatting again from my screen porch. And always remember to embrace the unexpected in this garden of life. Have a great day.