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Offline danno

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anyone plant black locast
« on: September 22, 2009, 09:30:53 am »
Has anyone tried this from seed or transplanting?   I have a couple of friends that have big patches.   One friends trees are covered with seed pods.  I have checked them several times and the still seem alittle green.   I thought about putting a tub under the trees covered with mesh so the mice dont turn it into a feeder.  Catch the seeds and start them in pots.   the other friends trees dont have the pods.  They seem to just sucker out very thick.  These I thought about trying to dig and transplant.  Any suggestions?

Online Kathyp

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2009, 11:05:15 am »
i have a kind of locust.  the only bad thing about them is that they spread like a weed.  they are coming up all over the place.  make sure you really want them!  they are easy to cut down, fast growing, but mine are brittle.  they break and fall on stuff with the wind and snow.

the bees love them!!
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Offline skflyfish

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2009, 01:52:24 pm »
Danno,

I don't know much about Black Locust propagation, but in talking with Larry Hasselman, he has commented that they are a very unreliable nectar source.

When I got my first package from him 3 years ago I was commenting on how the bees were all over a large patch I have less than a mile from my hive. He said at the time, that the Black Locust were good about once every 7 years. We have been lucky lately in having 2 years in the last 3 where they bloomed, but over the long haul, it may not produce that much honey.

I do understand they make great fence posts.

HTH,

Jay

Offline danno

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2009, 04:06:03 pm »
The spot that I want to get them going is at least 1/4 mile behind my barn.  Its just a empty corner of field with a single apple tree and a small stream.  I know that my friends trees grow up to 5 ft a year (just what I want).  The fact that they blossom is just a added bonus.   

Offline buzzbee

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2009, 06:42:00 pm »
It has been said the best way to grow a black locust is to try to kill it!!
Actually I transplanted four small saplings. I thought one had died but it came back vigorously the second year.

Offline heaflaw

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2009, 01:06:33 am »
Aren't the leaves supposed to be toxic to livestock?

Offline danno

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #6 on: September 23, 2009, 08:49:12 am »
It has been said the best way to grow a black locust is to try to kill it!!
Actually I transplanted four small saplings. I thought one had died but it came back vigorously the second year.

Thanks Buzzbee
I had read that old wives tale about cutting them down, using the trunk for a fence post and it would sprout the next year.  I'll dig and plant some suckers. 

Offline fermentedhiker

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #7 on: September 23, 2009, 07:53:03 pm »
digging the suckers is probably the easiest way to go.  I know every time I cut one down I have 30 or 40 saplings the next year.
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Offline brer

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #8 on: September 23, 2009, 09:58:54 pm »
I've actually managed to kill most of a patch.  My goats love to eat the leaves and keep them from spreading new withies.  That combined with using them for fence posts keeps my patch under control.

Sorry, still a newbee, and my solution ain't bee related.  :(

Offline charlotte

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #9 on: September 24, 2009, 03:43:16 am »
Yes all parts of black locust are toxic to livestock.  They have to eat quite a bit, but I wouldn't let your goats eat it if you can help it.  I transplanted a sapling to my yard & it has done fairly well.  We have alot around here.  Makes a very light white honey.  Good source of nectar unless we get a late frost that zaps the blossoms.
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Offline brooksbeefarm

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #10 on: September 24, 2009, 12:18:52 pm »
Never heard black locust was toxic to livestock,i have alot of them and never had a problem. The chickens would run and catch the leaves like you were throwing corn to them in the fall and the cows graze under them. Wild black cherry, buckeye,Oak (acorns),can kill livestock. We have Beefsteak mint blooming now that the bees love and it can damage the kidney's on cattle. I'll do some research on black locust. Thanks, Jack

Offline Sparky

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #11 on: September 24, 2009, 07:08:20 pm »
danno. Are you sure that the ones your other friend has without pods are the same ? There are a couple of types of Locust trees and not all produce pods. I am like buzzbee if you cut one off at the ground the suckers can come up anywhere where the roots are. Like Jack mentioned the wild black cherry can be toxic but usually it is when the tree is busted and the leaves begin to die or if you cut one down and when it whithers keep livestock away.

Offline danno

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #12 on: September 25, 2009, 09:16:31 am »
danno. Are you sure that the ones your other friend has without pods are the same ? There are a couple of types of Locust trees and not all produce pods. I am like buzzbee if you cut one off at the ground the suckers can come up anywhere where the roots are. Like Jack mentioned the wild black cherry can be toxic but usually it is when the tree is busted and the leaves begin to die or if you cut one down and when it whithers keep livestock away.
I am not sure they are both black locust.  The trees look alike and the leaves are definatly locust.  They both flower at the same time.  I'll plant some of both

Offline Pwrbait

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2009, 02:17:42 am »
If you really want to kill them, after you cut off the suckers, paint a tree killer or a high grade herbicide directly onto each sucker cutting.  Especially this time of year, when the trees are putting their primary resources into the root system for the winter.  Do this every time you cut a sucker so the poison gets in all those shallow feeder roots.  You can control the growth of the tree by doing this and not using a herbicide to get a straighter trunk for fencing or boarders, or ....

Offline brer

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2009, 05:17:10 am »
If you are truly serious about killing them out,,,

First off you want to kill the roots.  The two easiest ways are to either gird the tree or poison it.

Copper sulfate is a decent poison for taking out the whole tree.  If the trunk is large enough, use a bracing bit and bore into the trunk at a downwards angle close to ground level.  Keep boring until you get deep into the heart wood.  Fill the bore hole with the copper sulfate. 

Second method is girding.  Use whatever tool you want depending on the size of the tree.  Axe, chainsaw, pocket knife etc.  Ring the wood all the way around the tree until you hit heart wood.  Leave a good size gap of wood that ain't going to grow back.  What happens is that the top of the tree gets nutrition from the roots, but does not send anything back.  Given enough time it will suck the life out of the roots. 

Offline danno

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #15 on: September 28, 2009, 10:03:12 am »
Hey this thread is how to start them not kill them.   I have been a Lic Commercial Applicator for many years.  If I want to kill them I would basil spray them with garlon 4 mixed with oil.   Now back to the original question.  Should I wait to transplant suckers after the leaves drop?

Offline charlotte

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #16 on: September 28, 2009, 08:23:31 pm »
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_locust
Robinia pseudoacacia
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  (Redirected from Black locust)
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[edit] Toxicity

Like the honey locust, the black locust reproduces through its distinctive hanging pods. Black locust's pods are smaller and lighter, and thus easily carried long distances by the wind. Unlike the pods of the honey locust, but like those of the related European Laburnum, the black locust's pods are toxic. In fact, every part of the tree, especially the bark, is considered toxic, with the exception of the flowers. However, various reports have suggested that the seeds and the young pods of the black locust can be edible when cooked, since the poisons that are contained in this plant are decomposed by heat. Horses that consume the plant show signs of anorexia, depression, diarrhea, colic, weakness, and cardiac arrhythmia. Symptoms usually occur about 1 hour following consumption, and immediate veterinary attention is required.



And as far as the original question-  these things are pretty hardy trees.  I would guess you could transplant now & not have any problems.  Probably now is better anyway- then the roots can have some time to establish before winter.  Just make sure you water it alot if you are having a dry fall.  And good luck!  :)
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Offline brer

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #17 on: September 29, 2009, 10:03:33 pm »
My apologies Danno.

Topic drift was driving towards killing them once established.

Just from experience, once they are established, you will have no problems with self propagation.  Trust my on this one. ;)

Offline danno

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #18 on: September 30, 2009, 08:39:43 am »
My apologies Danno.

Topic drift was driving towards killing them once established.

Just from experience, once they are established, you will have no problems with self propagation.  Trust my on this one. ;)

No apology needed brer.   I do the same thing all the time   

Online Kathyp

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Re: anyone plant black locast
« Reply #19 on: September 30, 2009, 01:39:24 pm »
even if you rip the things out of the ground, they will re-root sideways unless you haul them off and burn them.  they are soft wood, so you can take them down with the tractor until they are a couple inches around.

i know you are asking about propagation, but trust me, you will want to know how to control them also  :evil:
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.