PlantFiles: Yellow False Acacia, Black Locust, Yellow Locust
Robinia 'Purple Robe'

Sad so many negatives, but I guess in other climates this plant is a nuisance... but here in the high deserts of California where few other things grow at all, this plant is amazing- adding some color where there simply is none, and growing without any supplemental water all year round (save the 2-4 inches we get in the winter)... handles high winds (it's windy EVEry day here, sometimes over 75mph), extremes in temp (summers here over 100 nearly every day, and snows in the winter), and looks great in early spring in full bloom. NO way is this invasive here.. in fact, I have never even seen it sucker here. One of the most attractive trees that one can grow in sunset garden zone 11.

Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is considered invasive by the Minnesota DNR
"Ecological Threat:

* Invades primarily disturbed habitats, degraded wood, thickets and old fields crowding out native vegetation of prairies, oak savannas and upland forests, forming single species stands.
* It reproduces vigorously by root suckering and stump sprouting forming a common connecting root system.
* It is native to the U.S. and occurs naturally on the lower Appalachian mountain slopes. It has been extensively planted for its nitrogen-fixing qualities and its hard wood."

We first saw this plant at Superstition Springs Mall in Mesa AZ. Trees line the lanes throughout the parking areas. I saw clusters of the seeds and grabbed a few to try. I've had the pink honey locust trees in CA. I'm going to plant the seeds and see what happens. We live East of Mesa, In Kearny. Wish me luck!

This tree is really pretty when in bloom. However the scent is strong and I am highly allergic to it. It was a bit fragile and was topped by a high wind, which caused it to die. Even though we dug it out 2 years ago, I am constantly cutting off the new shoots it is sending up, apparently from the roots that weren't dead? I would never plant this tree again. One short season of beautiful blooms is not work all the trouble it has caused. I now have a beautiful crepe myrtle in its place, long beautiful bloom, no disgusting scent to cause headaches for weeks, and no plants coming up all over the place.

Although suckering, and water spouts do frequently happen to this tree, it's absolutely a beautiful tree when flowers are in bloom. This tree can also be grown where most trees can't grow. Also when full grown has a great canvas

This cultivar is invasive, sending out additional underground shoots every year. These shoots grow into new trees and are resistant to pruning at ground level or digging up.