Locust Shademaster

I'm considering buying some of these. I found some 7-8 ft. ones for $20 that look very healthy. Do they really grow fast and strong or are they over-rated?

They are over-rated. Honey locusts are a weed tree where I live so I am somewhat biased. They have an ungainly and unattractive growth form and the bark is nothing to write home about. They do grow fast, I admit. There are so many classy and beautiful trees out there, why pick something like a gleditsia?

Try a maple or an oak. Some of the hybrid white oaks grow pretty fast, and the cloned red/silver maple trees are really quick growers. Autumn Blaze is one such variety. Or a catalpa, or a chestnut... anything is better than a honey-locust!

Hmmmmm, I've got a Catalpa (my favorite tree) - but I always kind of laugh when I read a description of it and it says "fast grower" - they do not grow fast here at all! I've had Autumn Blaze in the past, liked it OK.
All of the builders here use the Shademaster in the strips of grass between the streets, but maybe I'll spend a little more and go with a Green Ash - they're very attractive. I have some smaller Silver Maple, Aspen, and Hybrid Poplars coming. My Aspen do really well - I love them but need to fill in where my DH accidentally took out 2 of them w/ the Bobcat. The poplars are also going to be a "fill" tree - empty part of my property.
Thanks for the info!

"Beauty is in the eye . . . " Honeylocust can be a magnificent, graceful tree. We have some real beauties here. But avoid anything that is already overplanted in your area, and it sounds tlike that knocks the locust out of consideration. I would avoid green ash too -- you don't know at this point if and where the lethal Emerald ash borer will be stopped, and planting its favorite host right now is foolhardy IMHO.

Consider something that is adapted to your elevation, soil pH, and rain patterns. Look in the woods around you and see what is native there, and look in older neighborhoods and see what has done well there. I certainly endorse Liatris' suggestion of oaks if you select species that are adapted locally.

Guy S.

Thank you so much for the valuable input. I didn't realize the issues w/ green ash.

The problem w/ natives here is - well we're dryland grazing and prairie here so not exactly a lot of native trees around. Natural trees really only grow here near water and the trees we do have were planted by homeowners or the original homesteaders.

Going out about 50 miles we can find a wealth of tree varieties. Unfortunately, sometimes the most predominant species here are Russian Olive and Cottonwood - both of which are pests here and not allowed in Colorado anymore.

Even the trees that may be hearty a short distance away may not work well here due to our microclimate. I do have one nice Catalpa so may get more of those, if I can manage to get water to them. I have aspen in my "ditch" that do really well and I am getting a few more of those as well as some hybrid poplar (I know they're short-lived, but I figure if they take 5 years to grow to a good size, then die 15 years after that, well, I've gotten 15 good years! Plus, in that area, I don't have to worry about their roots causing problems).

I'm going to reasearch oaks as well as maybe the Autumn Purple ash (but that's getting pretty over-planted here, too), and maybe Cottonless Cottonwood.

It looks like I've still got a lot of work to do here before I go out and spend a lot of money (trees here in general are really expensive:-(

Thanks, Christie

Honeylocusts are great for the Colorado climate. I have one and they are fast growers and aren't considered a weed tree here. $20 is an excellent price. They are big when full grown. I wouldn't go with a cottonwood because the the roots tend to be shallow and you'll probably have to have it removed one day. Green ashes are easy to grow here as well, very fast growers but they do send up suckers all over the place. I have two honeylocusts - a shademaster and a sunburst great trees here.
Mobi

Cottonwood is not a pest tree, but a native and is not in the same catagory as Russian Olive which is officially on the noxious weed list.
Green Ash will do well as will the the honeylocust. You might also try hawthorn (plenty of those on the prairie around old homesteads).
Have you looked at the Colorado State University Extension site to get a handle on what is recommended in your area?
Here is the linkl to the fact sheets-scroll to Trees and Shrubs: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/garden/pubgard.html#tree

Forgot..
I'd consider peachleaf willow instead of the cottonwood.

Hello fellow Coloradoans! Not much to do outside today with the weather - snowy, blowy, yucky - my banty hen refuses to go out and the goats are holed up in their igloo!
I'm so happy for all the great input here - this membership has got to be the best money I've ever spent on gardening!

Made a few decisions so far - Lowe's had their bareroot trees 50% off (and all over 5' and healthy looking!) when I stopped there for more peat strips and I found a very nice Navaho Globe Willow ($9) that I think will do nicely in back for more shade for the dog. I also picked up a few ornamentals for really cheap - some crabapples and flowering cherry, as well as some shrubs (forsythia, dwarf alberta spruce, dwarf burning bush, and boxwood). So, those are going to fill in nicely - glad I got most everything planted yesterday and mulched and staked before the storm hit this morning.

Still haven't decided on the Honeylocust yet, we'll see. I do like the Green Ash still and suckers aren't too much of an issue here since there's so much space to fill anyway.

My poplars came Friday, too and I got them in too - nice little grouping going on now on that side.
I also got a weeping cherry - not too happy with the way the graft looks, but we'll see.

I just got very discouraged with buying big, expensive, nursery trees when we first moved in. Out of 4 we bought at $200+ each, only one lived (my catalpa), so I'd much rather find smaller, inexpensive ones and let them acclimate and grow on site, so I'm always happy to find sales!

Thanks for all the input again! - Christie

burning bush is one (ob)noxious shrub and has a chance of being added to the states noxious weed list in the next few years. If you can exchange it for something else it may save you in the long run.

Burning Bush, really? I hadn't heard about that one yet.

Does each plant spread invasively or do they seed? Do you know if heavy pruning helps control it? I've only planted one so far, so I can take it out really easy at this point, they're just about 2'tall now.

I thought about doing mainly forsythia on that side, but truth be told, I'm just not all that fond of them. Maybe I should just stick w/ potentilla?

They seed like no ones business!! That's that problem-birds love them and spread them far and wide. Potentilla is good-I really like the red toned cultivars.

Ok, They need to come out then, thanks - they weren't expensive anyway - like $5 each - I bought them because they're just really stout, healthy looking things in the pots. I work hard enough to prevent some of my perennials from re-seeding to worry about an invasive shrub! (of course, the stuff that I WANT to reseed never does!)

I'm going to check and see how they grow and what the invasiveness is like for them in Montana - I can save them and send them up to my in-laws maybe LOL!

I like potentilla too, but I just have a yellow one - I like yellow! Plus, against my mulch red is a little hard to see, it just doesn't "pop" KWIM? I did put in a purple leaf sand cherry last year, though - but its closer to the front so it can show off!

I also ordered a varigated weigelia for my berm, hope that does well - it hasn't come yet, but I haven't seen too many of them in the stores yet. Thanks caron - you're a peach! -Christie

Yeah, the red won't look good with the mulch. I've seen white cultivars as well but none bloom near as well as the yellow ones it seems.

Hope all does well in the storm!