PlantFiles: Rose Acacia, Bristly Locust, Moss Locust
Robinia hispida

This Robinia is a pest in my yard. Yes, the pink flowers are lovely but that's the only thing about it that is. It's coming up in the shrubs, the flower beds, the yard. And the thorns will hurt you. Very aggessive here in the southeast US. I try not to use chemicals in the yard but might have to with this one.

I have seen this plant/tree in a couple of locations around Vancouver, BC. They are trees about 30' high and 20' spread. Gorgeous when in bloom. A few years ago I walked by a house being renovated and saw the yard was starting to get dug up. In one area where the excavator had ripped up some of the soil, was what looked to be a small Rose Acacia, with a few blooms. Rather than see it plowed under, I grabbed it and tore it and a few of the smaller root attachments out and took it home to replant.
The next day, the excavator flattened every plant on the lot!
The interesting thing about these ones, is that the stems appear to be bristling with millions of vicious looking thorns. However, when touching them, they are actually quite soft. My Rose Acacias (only 2 stems survived) are now about 4 years old and this year had a dozen or so of those beautiful pinkish-purple dangling blooms. Winters here are wet/rainy and summers are very dry - months without any ground soaking rain, but these 2 Rose Acacias seem to be doing well. The soil is poor and acidic on a steep slope.

This plant is originally a native from Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Alabama. It has been cultivated and escaped from cultivation so that now it is found practically over the whole eastern half of the United States. I got this plant from my Mother in Law many years ago. It grows into a small tree and spreads by runners. Not particularly attractive except when in bloom. If possible, locate on a hill where a path runs below it, that way you can really appreciate the blooms. It is slightly difficult to transplant because the young plants do not form their own root system while small, instead they rely on the runner from the mother plant. Best method is to sever the runner, then allow the small plant to form it's own roots...then move the plant the next year.