Honeylocust, Thornless, Bare Root

Thornless Honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis)

Thornless Honeylocust is a fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing native tree with a graceful, open canopy that allows filtered sunlight to reach the ground—making it an ideal overstory species in food forests, silvopasture systems, and agroforestry plantings. Unlike its thorny wild relative, this thornless variety is well-suited for human-managed landscapes. It tolerates poor soils, drought, urban pollution, and compacted ground, while providing forage, shade, and habitat for wildlife and beneficial insects.

Key Characteristics

• Nitrogen-Fixing and Soil Improving
  While not a legume, Honeylocust hosts root-zone microbes that fix nitrogen, improving soil fertility over time. Its leaf litter breaks down quickly, further enriching the soil and supporting nutrient cycling in regenerative agricultural systems.
• Open Canopy for Productive Understory
  With its fine, feathery foliage, Honeylocust casts light, dappled shade, allowing sun-loving grasses, shrubs, and crops to grow beneath it. This makes it ideal for silvopasture, where it provides summer shade for livestock while maintaining pasture productivity.
• Wildlife Value and Seasonal Interest
  The tree’s late-spring flowers are visited by bees and pollinators, and its twisting seed pods (up to 18" long) are eaten by deer, rabbits, squirrels, and game birds. While not as favored as oak acorns or native fruits, the pods offer late-season wildlife forage, especially during lean times.
• Tolerates Harsh Conditions with Ease
  Thriving in medium-dry to medium soils, Honeylocust can handle drought, urban compaction, salt, and poor fertility, making it one of the most versatile native shade trees for both rural and urban environments.
• Ideal for Silvopasture, Hedgerows, and Restoration
  Because of its fast growth, drought resistance, and soil improvement, Thornless Honeylocust excels in pasture-based systems, erosion-prone sites, field edges, and as a pioneer tree in degraded soils. It’s also valued for its rot-resistant wood and ornamental qualities.

Product Details

• Native Range: Central and Eastern U.S.
• Plant Life Cycle: Deciduous tree
• Sun Requirements: Full sun
• Soil Requirements: Medium-dry to medium
• Mature Height: 40–70 feet
• Bloom Time: May–June
• Bloom Color: Greenish-yellow (inconspicuous)
• USDA Hardiness Zones: 4–9

Thornless Honeylocust is a regenerative workhorse: tough, beautiful, and productive. Ideal for systems that value shade, nitrogen-fixing function, and understory productivity—especially in poor or compacted soils.