Locust-like leaves

The leaves remind me of locusts, but there are no thorns and I think it is something else. Does anyone recognize this tree or shrub?

Sorry for the poor photos. I can get more tomorrow if need be.

Definitely Robinia pseudoacacia. Not all individuals have thorns, particularly not thin, weak plants like this one.

Resin

Thanks, Resin! I'm so excited that it's a native tree.

It's growing in a utility company "right of way" area on what is technically my property even though it's behind my fence line, and I am supposed to keep the area accessible to workers who need to get back there.

Now that I know what its mature size and shape will be, I'll prune off the lower branches so that utility companies don't hack away at them because they're in the way.

I agree with Resin. I was having trouble IDing the ones here in Grants Pass because there were not thorns. A local nurseryman Showed me his nursery book description and what do ya know? no thorns :)

I'm glad there aren't any thorns on this one because it is in a tight area and I would definitely scratch myself.

Lucky duck! I collected pods from some commercially planted Locust and grew them, thorns like you wouldn't believe.

Based on Resin's input, this little tree could get them later on; I'll see! I'm going to prune it a bit today because I read that Locusts bleed too much in the spring.

The deer will be unhappy if it gets big and thorny because this is a major passageway for them as they make the rounds in my neighborhood.

I wish my deer were that finicky...
The wicked spines on my aralia spinosa don't faze the deer at all !

Correction: There are indeed thorns on it...about 1/3 inch long. I managed to prune it with loppers without touching any, though.

Wee, I've decided that Robinia pseudoacacia is 100% deer-proof in my area. It would have been long gone by now otherwise!

Deer won't eat it, but I've seen mention that they love to use it as a buck rub, because the thorns are good for scratching the velvet off the antlers. So don't be surprised if it gets bashed about!

Resin

If they would use it instead of shrubs and trees for which I've paid good money and to which I tend with loving care, they are more than welcome to it!!

A buck recently attacked one of my Ilex 'Sparkleberry' shrubs - before and after photos below.

My only consolation was that the stupid buck chose this puny shrub instead of my young Cornus florida 'Cloud Nine' or Acer rubrum 'Red Sunset'.

This message was edited Nov 16, 2014 6:37 PM

Yeah, he thrashed it pretty good.

I have Robina 'Purple Robe', of which I do not see any thorns.

However, the deer have rubbed up and damaged the trunk quite a bit. It is a tall tree now, with a wire guard around its skinny trunk.

Oh, it is so easy to "lock the barn door, after the horse ran away"...

:-)

Evelyn and Muddy-here is a business opportunity-you should breed Robinia varieties with extra big thorns, to be planted in deer country. There is a commercial nursery that call their groundcover plants "Steppables". Yours could be "Buck-Off" or some such catchy title ;)

Very catchy! So far, deer have left the Robinia pseudoacacia alone. It's in a heavily-traveled deer area and has not been touched, so something about it is obviously a big deer-repellent. I'm happy to donate it to a deer-resistant Robinia-breeding effort : - )

After deer attacked my winterberry, I rummaged around my shed and found these tomato supports that I thought would be great to put around the young red maple growing in my front yard: http://www.gardeners.com/buy/tomato-stakes-ladders/38-184RS.html?start=2&q=tomato%20support

They are very substantial - the metal frame bars are 1/4 inch/7mm thick. So far so good. I've thought of spray-painting them (I have the green ones) brown so they blend in more, but the green color is growing on me and my neighbors don't care.

This message was edited Nov 25, 2014 7:14 PM

Now, if you ask me, it would be great if the genes responsible for Poncirus trifoliata's huge thorns could be bred into shrubs and trees.

Nothing touches this shrub growing in the forest near me! Well...except for me, that is. I haven't removed the large P. trifoliata shrubs even though they are non-native/introduced, but I do pull up their babies.

Those are some serious thorns!

Yes, they're pretty vicious. That's one of the reasons I haven't tried to cut down the shrubs. I think I'll try to get rid of them soon, though...that is, cut them down and leave them where they are. I'm not about to haul them out of there!

Yeah, they look like they would stop a Brahma bull. I don't believe I'd be pulling on them either.

Buck off, I love it!

We have a place called Cluck You Chicken, I hate that. Don't know why I love one and hate the other. I think cuz Buck off is so apt and real, but Cluck you is gratuitous.

Poncirus is going into the wild there, Muddy? My childhood friend's yard had one.

Unfortunately, Buck Off has already been claimed.

http://www.bartlett.com/productlabels/pdfs/Maryland/Product%20Labels/BUCK%20OFF%20MSDS.pdf

Bull stop bush?

If deer were monogamous, we could call it the Widow Maker.

Sally, yes it is growing in the wild. I don't think anyone in our neighborhood has any of these shrubs, so it is likely that they were planted by people who owned the land before selling it to a developer in the 1960's.

Fortunately, the seedlings are easy to pull up.

I LOVE Poncirus! I had traded for three 'Flying Dragon' seedlings that I've planted on my property. If I had a large parcel of land, I'd surely use them as a barrier shrub -- all the way around.