'Purple Robe' Locust

[Cindi]

Our local garden centre has their annual inventory reduction sale on.  I took a trip there, looked around and saw a tree that I remembered from reading that was a great "bee tree".  So, at 50% off, I couldn't resist.

The 'Purple Robe' Locust is a cultivar of the species Black Honey Locust.  The flowers are borne I imagine just the same, drooping, very fragrant and attractive to the bees, violet-purple in colour.  The tree grows very quickly and will bear the flowers this May coming up, near the end of May I understand, for a short time of about 10 days.  The tree I bought is actually quite tall, I venture maybe 12 feet or so, so by next spring I should have a good sized tree, hopefully with lots of nectar producing flowers for the bees.

This past spring I also purchased a locust tree, Yellow Locust.  I am very impressed with the pretty leaves, the colour of the leaves being that bright yellow green, it looks good where it is and has actually grown quite a bit since I planted it, I expect next spring it too will bear some pretty flowers, which colour, I have no clue.  Have a beautiful day, a great day.  Cindi

[Michael Bush]

Have you seen the bees on it?  Honey locust is not very attractive to bees.  Black locust is.  It sounds lovely.  Is it thornless or thorned?

[Cindi]

Michael, the Yellow Honey Locust was a new tree planted this spring, it did not bloom.  I have no clue if it will be attractive or not to bees.  Sometimes I think that it depends on the area if bees are attracted to certain blooms or not.  For example, my Anise Hyssop was covered in bees all summer, other forum members indicated that the bees did not paid much mind to theirs'  :(

Yes, I think the Purple Robe will be a beauty, we'll see, time will tell that tale.  It will bloom this year coming up, so I am told  :)

It is thorned, both the yellow honey locust and the purple robe, let me tell you.  I have a nasty cut on my forefinger from when I was lifting it out of the truck, my hand slipped a little and the thorn got me, ouch, hurts, bled like a son of a gun and it is still hurtin'.  But...of course I know how much pain the honey/propolis in my jar relieved it, couldn't imagine how much it would hurt if I didn't put this concoction on it :-D  Have a wonderful and great day.  Cindi

[reinbeau]

Cindi, that tree sounds lovely! 

And Michael, as for honey locust not being very attractive to bees, I have to disagree - unless the common name can be applied to two different trees.  What we call Honey Locust around here is extremely attractive to bees and it makes nice light honey.  I love it when it blooms, the scent is everywhere!

[steve]

Mikes right, folks....
   Honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) can attract honey bees to it's very small flower but the girls get next to nothing for their trouble...The true honey locust has the big thorns , big seed pods and small compound leaves....
    Black locust (Rubinia pseudoacacia) not only attacks bees but can evry so often produce a surplus of very fine almost water clear honey......it has white flowers in clusters, small seed pods and almost no thorns, the compond leaves are larger than that of tha honey locust and the tips are dimpled.
                                                                     Steve, 

[Michael Bush]

And there is the problem with common names...

[reinbeau]

And there is the problem with common names...

Agreed!  The 'Honey Locust' around here are thornless, so they must be the Rubinias.