True Root Nursery
Black Locust Seedling
Black Locust Seedling
Species: Robinia pseudoacacia
History: Native to small portion of the United States, the tree first became known to Western science in 1607 when British colonists in Jamestown used it to build houses. It was introduced to Britain in 1636 and has since been used as a landscaping tree in many countries around the world. It is unfortunately considered invasive in many places due to its intense suckering habit and ability to fix nitrogen, allowing it to thrive even in poor soils. However, its hard wood has many uses and the flowers are eaten in numerous European countries and Japan, and it is used medicinally in India.
Why We Grow It: While this tree is considered invasive to southern Ontario as it grows quickly and aggressively, we feel when it is grown with control and awareness, it can be a powerful ally for the following reasons:
- it is a great pioneer species in ecologically disturbed spaces thanks to its resilience and ability to grow and produce nitrogen
- even in poor soil it provides erosion control with its spreading, shallow root system
- it's a fast growing hardwood
- it is preferred for firewood and furniture (60x more rot resistant than cedar)
- bees appreciate it's showy blooms, which are edible and can be enjoyed in salads, jams, cooking and baking, check out Fiddlehead Nursery's locust-flower patty recipe!
- On a farm/tended space, they provide valuable shade for livestock, thicken fencerows, provide habitat for wildlife, increase soil health, and add nitrogen, etc. and are easily managed.
However it is strongly advised not to plant in untended bushland due to its quick and aggressive spread, and resilience once it is established in an area making it quite difficult to remove.
Fruit Specs
Fruit Specs
Recommended Use: Fresh eating, baking, preserving, cooking, wood can be used for making furniture, flooring, fences, good for burning
Fruit Size:
Storage: Flowers should be used relatively soon
Harvest: May
Growing Specs
Growing Specs
Canadian Hardiness Zone: 4
Soil Preference: Prefers loam but adaptable to other kinds of soil
Flowering Time: Spring - Late
Bloom Colour: White
Pollination Requirements: Self-pollinating
Sun/Shade Requirements:
Full sun (approx. 8-10 hours of sun daily)
General Growth Habits:
Tree reaches up to 25m, vigorous, flowers May to June
Shipping vs. Pick Up
Shipping vs. Pick Up
CLICK HERE to see how shipping compares to pick up.
Shipping: Every year we ship thousands of trees across Canada (except BC due to CFIA regulations). We carefully bag roots in damp sawdust, then box them and send them out via courrier. CLICK HERE to see our shipping policy.
Pick-up: We also have thousands of trees picked up from our nursery each year. The pick-up options is free, though you must wait until you have been emailed a confirmation that your order is ready to pick up, which will have further information such as hours, locations, etc. We really appreciate if you can make an appointment to pick up, then we can be as organized as possible during our busy season.
Size at Purchase
Size at Purchase
Black Locust seedlings are divided into the following grades:
-1 year plant - 30-90cm
There is some overlap in size since we are also taking the age of the plants into account. Some older plants may not have put on quite as much vegetative growth but will have larger root systems.
All of these heights exclude the roots since seedlings and some berries will often have a lot of root growth but relatively little vegetative growth (ex. our Shagbark Hickories seedlings are often 5-15cm above the soil but will have roots that reach 20cm+ in length).
Not all of our berries and seedlings will be available in all of these grades since growth rate can vary significantly across species and even varieties. While we remain competitive in our plant size, it's also worth noting we don't use synthetic chemicals to push vegetative growth, therefore you may find conventional nursery stock larger in some instances comparatively.
Why plant small? It's best to transplant when a plant is young so it can establish its roots before it has a lot of vegetative growth. This is much less stressful on it and bareroot plants tend to catch up and even surpass larger potted ones planted at the same time, after a few years.
Orders that are cancelled last minute due to size (being "too small"), will still incur the applicable cancellation fees if the plants are true to our grading standards as per the agreement of sale when the order was placed.
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