Black locust

[Sailor]

I want to plant some in my yard. The hardiness zone fits. The earth is probably not ideal for it though. I hear they grow fast. I don't imagine I'll ever use the wood from it in a boat I build but maybe one day someone will. Anybody ever plant BL? I've heard they can be a nuisance tree and keep coming up shooting out all over the place. Anybody have any tips about it before I go ahead and stick them in the ground. I've already ordered seeds. I got White Oak acorns, white ash seeds and smoke tree seeds. Smoke tree is ornamental but the others could one day produce boatbuilding woods. Any other woods I might think about planting if I'm going to be gifting some as yet unborn boatbuilder his dream wood lot? I'm talking about 2.6 acres so not a whole forest but a few trees of each kind might be nice. I feel like giving back what I hope to one day take away from the earth. I'll plant whatever I can't fit on my land out at my brother's place. He's got 122 acres and I'm sure I can fit a couple or three hundred trees on that no problem.

[emma55]

Now that is some forward thinking !! Love it

[StevenBauer]

Maybe some Paulownia or a couple of Dawn Redwoods. Or Cedar.

[emma55]

Maybe some Paulownia or a couple of Dawn Redwoods. Or Cedar.

New names to me

[Brian Palmer]

We've got a black locust on our property. Yes, they do sprout from the roots, but it is not a huge problem. Just cut them off when you see them when they are small.

They also have a tendency to develop multiple trunks, so you will need to prune them to avoid that if you want good lumber.

The roots may be shallow, so try to avoid planting them too close to paved areas.

They have large numbers of white flowers in the spring that are attractive for about a week.

Younger shoots and stems have long sharp thorns to protect themselves, but not on mature trunks.

Otherwise, no real problems with our tree.

Brian

[johngsandusky]

Great idea!

[Bluegill]

I think BL have around 2 inch long thorns.

[Jay Greer]

They do have long thorns. As a kid I learned they are not good trees to climb!
Jay

[reddog]

I want to plant some in my yard. The hardiness zone fits. The earth is probably not ideal for it though. I hear they grow fast. I don't imagine I'll ever use the wood from it in a boat I build but maybe one day someone will. Anybody ever plant BL? I've heard they can be a nuisance tree and keep coming up shooting out all over the place. Anybody have any tips about it before I go ahead and stick them in the ground. I've already ordered seeds. I got White Oak acorns, white ash seeds and smoke tree seeds. Smoke tree is ornamental but the others could one day produce boatbuilding woods. Any other woods I might think about planting if I'm going to be gifting some as yet unborn boatbuilder his dream wood lot? I'm talking about 2.6 acres so not a whole forest but a few trees of each kind might be nice. I feel like giving back what I hope to one day take away from the earth. I'll plant whatever I can't fit on my land out at my brother's place. He's got 122 acres and I'm sure I can fit a couple or three hundred trees on that no problem.

Sailor, I planted a few oh about two years ago. A girl at work had given them to me. They are doing well, about doubled in height and yes they have thorns. There is a lot of locust here on the South Shore. They should do well in Shubie too. Go for it.

Earl

[Brian Palmer]

The thorns are not on the trunk or branches once they are about 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Don't let that discourage you from planting them.

Brian

[davebrown]

I have often wondered whether they would be a good tone wood for mandolins or upright basses.

[Paul Pless]

Any other woods I might think about planting if I'm going to be gifting some as yet unborn boatbuilder his dream wood lot?

Some non dwarf varieties of apple trees for grown crooks for small boats. You might even get some out of these in your lifetime. . .


As far as locust goes, we have thousands on our property. I don't have too much trouble with 'volunteers' but we do get a lot of regrowth from stumps of cut down trees. This is one of the reasons its prized as a species for firewood - that and it burns very hot, even when its green. Take note, it grows very differently depending on whether it grows under a shade canopy or in the wide open sun. Be careful of planting it too near your house, its a high defect tree and often sheds it top in high wind or if there is much of an ice load.

[Sailor]

The plan would be to plant it out back away from the house. I am a little leery because I don't want it to take over the farmer's field behind my property. His cattle likely won't be grazing on it and if he's haying the field that year, he won't appreciate it. How far should I keep it from his field in order to prevent pissing him off? Also, the best spot for it is near my fruit trees. I already have some non dwarf species of apple tree in my orchard (thanks for the tip). I know that trees like black walnut can kill fruit trees. My parents had two apples they planted when I was a kid. One was close to a mature (ish) black walnut and it eventually died off. I don't want to kill my orchard before any of the trees mature. I don't have a TON of space but on 2.63 acres, there is some room. I want some white oak as well. I want to save room to build my boat, leave a space for a possible swimming pool one day, yet still have some nice trees to use for boatbuiding one day. Even if it's not me that uses them. Though, I'd love to use a lot of BL in my boats from now on. I just can't find any around here. Reddog, how mature are your trees? Do you get any wood from limbs that blow down in storms etc? Or are they still too small for that? I guess the only way to find out a lot of this is to just plant them and see. I'll likely start a few on my brother's land too. He's got 120 acres so no worries about encroaching on the house, driveway, farms, etc. Thanks for the thoughts everyone.
Daniel

[Sailor]

I may have to take a trip to the south shore to see what I can find. Maybe a local mill can set me up with some BL for my Catspaw.

[Paul Pless]

Do you get any wood from limbs that blow down in storms etc? Or are they still too small for that?

They're pretty small. I have used a few 'tops' for fence posts and or stakes. Honestly most of ours is cut and split for firewood which we heat our home and shop with. I don't have a sawmill, so I have laboriously split a few large logs into small enough 'cants' to run through my bandsaw to produce lumber - just to see what it would be like. Its a huge amount of work for little reward. Local mills sell air dried black locust lumber for $2.50 per board foot and kiln dried black locust lumber for $3.00. . .

[ChrisBen]

If you have access to them, there were a couple of articles in WB mag early 80's maybe "A boatbuilders garden".

[JamesCaird]

HI Guys- I have had good luck with locust from around Cape Cod/SE Mass. for toerails and cleats, etc.(Concordia Yawl) Have some trees standing in my own yard. Have been asking lately at some local mills for enough 8/4 to make new toerails for my schooner but haven't located any yet. Paul : where exactly is "Hell"? Might be able to use some from your local mill. Very pretty stuff varnished up - and tough. Cheers/JC

[Paul Pless]

I'm in Hell, Michigan. Two local sawyer/lumber yards that are reputable and that will ship for you are:

http://www.theworkbench.com/

and

http://www.armstrongmillworks.com/

You may want to check with Jim Ledger, he just bought a large order of locust near you.

[Andy Mcconkey]

I love Locust trees. We've got them on two separate properties. They will sucker out maybe 15' or so from the host tree. They are a nitrogen fixer, so whatever is in close proximity will grow like crazy. They can take a lot of abuse, but they can be problematic if they grow too fast, so water them deeply and infrequently and never fertilize them with anything that contains nitrogen.

[Wayne Jeffers]

I think BL have around 2 inch long thorns.

I believe you're thinking of honey locust. Black locust thorns are about 3/8" long, and only on the small branches.

Around both our Ohio house and our WV house, the locust for many years have been infested with a pest called a locust leaf miner. The noticeable result is that the leaves turn brown prematurely. The leaves of infested trees are already brown. It doesn't hurt them that I can see, but I suppose it may slow their growth.

In recent memory, black locust was the preferred wood for fence posts. Good for 20 years or more, sometimes much more. Most locust was harvested when fence post size, and larger trees were commonly split to make several posts from a length.

Wayne

[reddog]

The plan would be to plant it out back away from the house. I am a little leery because I don't want it to take over the farmer's field behind my property. His cattle likely won't be grazing on it and if he's haying the field that year, he won't appreciate it. How far should I keep it from his field in order to prevent pissing him off? Also, the best spot for it is near my fruit trees. I already have some non dwarf species of apple tree in my orchard (thanks for the tip). I know that trees like black walnut can kill fruit trees. My parents had two apples they planted when I was a kid. One was close to a mature (ish) black walnut and it eventually died off. I don't want to kill my orchard before any of the trees mature. I don't have a TON of space but on 2.63 acres, there is some room. I want some white oak as well. I want to save room to build my boat, leave a space for a possible swimming pool one day, yet still have some nice trees to use for boatbuiding one day. Even if it's not me that uses them. Though, I'd love to use a lot of BL in my boats from now on. I just can't find any around here. Reddog, how mature are your trees? Do you get any wood from limbs that blow down in storms etc? Or are they still too small for that? I guess the only way to find out a lot of this is to just plant them and see. I'll likely start a few on my brother's land too. He's got 120 acres so no worries about encroaching on the house, driveway, farms, etc. Thanks for the thoughts everyone.
Daniel

Sailor, I have three planted. They are only about 5 feet in height but that is double from when I planted them. Still have thorns but as mentioned above they will loose those as they mature. They are kind of like a weed. It's fairly common here but not much is sawn. Very distinctive bark when they are mature so are easy to spot once you know what to look for. I can ask around to see if there is a source. I know Wilson Fitt who is on this forum sporadically used quite a bit of locally obtained locust when he built his Christina Grant. I can't say how far from your property line you should plant to keep them out of your neighbour's field.

Earl

[Mrleft8]

Not a good idea if they aren't native to that area (They aren't, as far as I know, native to NS), and possibly illegal.
They are an extraordinarily invasive species, and will compete effectively with other native trees for the things that trees crave, and need.
I'd check with your Dept. of agriculture before importing any.

[Torna]

What about Cedar, is that native to your region?
-leif

[Sailor]

All sorts of good boatbuilding woods are native to here. Problem is the King had it all cut and shipped to build ships for the royal navy about 200 years ago. Not much left here now. I intend on fixing that with some white oak (QA) and a few others.

[Mad Scientist]

A quick Google search of white oak/quercus alba suggests that Nova Scotia is out of white oak's native range, but perhaps a bit of Global Warming will change this?

Tom