r/treeidentification • u/NeedleworkerSame1856 • 8d ago

Solved! Mother tree identification request

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We have a beautiful shady tree in our favorite park in urban Chicago. It produces many sprouts each year, and when we leave I want to bring a sprout with us and turn it into this. Bark and close up leaves included— I’m just curious since my fiancé is allergic to actual walnuts, what is it? Thank you kindly in advance for your thoughts! 🙏🏼

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u/Morpheus7474 8d ago

Thornless Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis). Pretty common urban tree. Seems healthy. Normally, these guys get hammered by borers in my area

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u/RentAdorable4427 8d ago

This is for sure the correct ID. I just want to add that I'm not sure what you mean by sprout, and I don't want you to be disappointed. Honeylocust is a fairly prolific tree; if you mean taking a seedling growing near the tree, that should work with basic care. Consider taking a few in case you loose some.

"Sprout" or "water sprout" means a (usually epicormic) shoot in the crown, and a "sucker" or "root sucker" is a shoot coming from the root flare or a root. Neither of these are likely to work to propagate the tree, especially without VERY specific timing and techniques. If you have a year or so to work with, you could try air layering, which would have a higher likelihood of success than cuttings.

If you do end up trying cuttings, take A LOT. You are likely to loose 50+% of them. Honeylocust is a super-comon tree in the nursery trade, so you could also just purchase when you get where you're going, but I totally understand wanting a scion of a particular tree. Seedlings are your best bet, but won't be exactly the same - this really matters with honeylocust, because as another poster pointed out, your tree is the 'Inermis' thornless cultivar. There is a chance that seedlings will revert to the straight species, which has tons of WICKED thorns.

Air layering will genetically the same tree as the parent, but take a lot of time. Cuttings will also be exactly the same, but have a much lower success rate. Almost anything you buy will be thornless. Whichever method you choose, good luck! Propagation is super fun and very dangerous to your free time and outdoor space.

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u/MotownCatMom 7d ago

We have a honey locust, and there are lots of them in the area. I found a seedling growing in one of our flower beds and rescued it. It's growing in a pot for now. <3