--- title: Honeylocust in Reno and Carson City | Tree Guide url: https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/honeylocust/ business: Battle Born Tree Service address: 6301 US Highway 50 East, Carson City, NV 89701 phone: 775.232.8243 hours: Office Monday-Friday 8:30 am-5:00 pm; phones answered seven days a week; 24-hour emergency service credentials: ISA Certified Arborist WE-11728A on staff; Nevada Business License # 20131580674; fully insured type: Tree service (removal, crane work, pruning, stump grinding, defensible space, snow removal, firewood) --- - [Home](https://battleborntreeservice.com/) - [Tree guide](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/) - Honeylocust # Honeylocust Honeylocust is a drought-resistant, feathery-leaved shade tree planted along streets and in yards across Northern Nevada, usually in a thornless form. It tolerates dry ground and salt, so it holds up well here, but a large one with a cracked union or canker needs an arborist's assessment. - **Botanical name:** Gleditsia triacanthos - **Type:** Deciduous shade tree; thornless varieties common in towns - **Height:** Usually 49 to 98 feet in the wild, maximum about 140 feet - **Lifespan:** About 125 years on average - **Drought tolerance:** Drought-resistant and somewhat salt-tolerant (USFS) - **Hardiness:** Zones 6b to 7b across the service area Honeylocust was a popular street tree because it casts light shade and copes with heat and poor soil. Its small leaves also drop in fall, which helps with cleanup. ## How do you identify honeylocust? Leaves are divided into many small leaflets, giving a light, feathery look, and turn yellow in fall. Seed pods are long, flat and twisted, 8 to 16 inches, and hang on the tree into winter. Wild trees carry heavy branched thorns on the trunk and lower branches; the thornless forms planted in towns do not. - Fine, feathery leaves that turn yellow - Flat, twisted seed pods 8 to 16 inches long - Thorns on wild trees; thornless on most street trees - Light, filtered shade ## Where does it grow here? It is a planted tree in the valley towns: Reno (4,500 feet), Sparks (4,400 feet), Carson City (4,700 feet), Minden and Gardnerville (4,700 feet), in zones 6b to 7b. The Forest Service says thornless types are often planted on dry sites. It is less common above about 6,000 feet, where winters are longer and the lot trees are mostly conifers. ## What goes wrong with it here? The Forest Service says honeylocust has few serious pests: leaf feeders such as spider mites and the honeylocust plant bug, and a canker that is occasionally fatal. Dead branches in the upper crown, sunken patches of bark and ooze are reasons for an arborist to look. We identify the problem; we do not spray. Snow and wind break weak unions, and honeylocust can also drop many pods and twigs. Large trees that have been headed back or topped develop crowded, weakly attached shoots; see [why topping is not pruning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/why-tree-topping-is-not-pruning/). Wild thorny trees and thorn-bearing suckers are a hazard for hands and tires. ## Pruning and removal Dead wood and hazardous limbs can come off at any time. Otherwise, late winter, while the tree is dormant, is the usual window for deciduous trees. Good pruning thins the crown a little, removes deadwood and crossing branches and shortens long limbs. See [tree trimming and pruning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/tree-trimming-pruning/). Removal is usual for a tree with extensive dead crown, a canker that has girdled a limb or trunk, decay at the base or a fresh crack. A certified arborist assesses the tree on a free estimate. ## What does an arborist check on a honeylocust? On a visit we look at the main unions where big limbs meet the trunk, the bark for sunken or oozing patches, the canopy for dead twigs and the base for lifted soil or fungus. We also look at what the tree is near: roof, wires, a driveway, a neighbor's fence. The answer on a honeylocust is often a light thinning and deadwood cleanup rather than removal, and we say so in the estimate. ## Is honeylocust good firewood? The Forest Service describes the wood as dense, hard and strong, and notes it is used for posts, pallets, furniture and firewood. For what we have available, call the office; we do not list species or terms on this site. See [firewood and wood chips](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/firewood-wood-chips/). ### Sources - [USDA Forest Service, Fire Effects Information System: Gleditsia triacanthos](https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/gletri/all.html) (read October 17, 2026) - [USDA Agricultural Research Service: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 (PRISM, Oregon State University)](https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/) (read October 17, 2026) - [NOAA NCEI: U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020](https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/land-based-station/us-climate-normals) (read October 17, 2026) ### Talk to the office [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243) | Monday to Friday | 8:30 am - 5:00 pm | |---|---| | Saturday and Sunday | Office closed, phones answered | Phones answered seven days a week. 24-hour emergency service. [Free estimate](#quote) ### Keep reading - [Black locust](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/black-locust/) - [Ash trees: Modesto, Raywood and green ash](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-guide/ash/) - [Why topping a tree is not pruning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/guides/why-tree-topping-is-not-pruning/) - [Tree trimming and pruning](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/tree-trimming-pruning/) - [Firewood and wood chips](https://battleborntreeservice.com/tree-services/firewood-wood-chips/) ### Terms on this page [Canker](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/canker/) [Arborist](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/arborist/) [The full glossary](https://battleborntreeservice.com/glossary/) ## Questions people ask Still have a question? Call [775.232.8243](tel:775.232.8243). Phones are answered seven days a week. ### Are honeylocust trees messy? They drop seed pods, twigs and small leaflets. Thornless varieties are common on streets for that reason. ### How long do honeylocusts live? The US Forest Service gives an average of about 125 years. ### Does a honeylocust have thorns? Wild trees have heavy branched thorns. Thornless forms are widely planted as ornamentals. ### Can honeylocust handle our dry summers? The Forest Service calls it drought-resistant and somewhat salt-tolerant, which suits Northern Nevada, but deep watering still helps a young tree.