Gleditsia aquatica
| Gleditsia aquatica | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 6 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Height: | 39' |
| Speed: | Slow |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Late Summer |
| Open Woods Forest | |
| Native to: | |
| Nitrogen Fixer | |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Gleditsia aquatica (common name: water locust)
Propagation: Seed - pre-soak for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in a greenhouse[1]. The seed should have swollen up, in which case it can be sown, if it has not swollen then soak it for another 24 hours in warm water. If this does not work then file away some of the seed coat but be careful not to damage the embryo[1]. Further soaking should then cause the seed to swell. One it has swollen, the seed should germinate within 2 - 4 weeks at 20°c. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual deep pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first few winters outdoors.
Cultivation: Easily grown in a loamy soil, requiring a sunny position[2]. Succeeds in most soils[3]. Tolerates atmospheric pollution[3].
Rather tender when young, it grows best in S. Britain[2]. A slow-growing tree[2], it is growing well at the Hillier Arboretum in Hampshire where a tree was 7 metres tall and 8 metres wide in 1993[K].
Trees have a light canopy, they come into leaf late in the spring and drop their leaves in early autumn[3] making them an excellent top storey tree in a woodland garden.
Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[3].
This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[3].
Range: South-eastern N. America - N. Carolina to Florida, west to Texas, Indiana and Arkansas.
Habitat: Rich lands of river valleys that are subject to inundation, often for a considerable part of the year[4][5].
Usage: Having an extensive root system, it is planted for stabilizing wet banks and marshes[3].
Wood - heavy, very hard, strong, durable in contact with the soil, coarse-grained[4][5]. It weighs 46lb per cubic foot[6]. The wood is extremely durable and is used primarily for making fence posts[5].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Pollution: Tolerates environmental pollution.
In Leaf: Early Summer-Mid Fall
Seed Ripens: Mid Fall-Early Winter
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheat, Wilfrid. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. St Martin, 1948.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bean, William. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Murray, 1981.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sargent, Charles. Manual of the Trees of North America. Dover, 1965.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Elias, Thomas. The Complete Trees of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1980.
- ↑ Britton, Nathaniel and Addison Brown. An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1970.