bardo Posted November 12, 2015 Hi. I will have some seeds of this plant available soon if anyone is interested. The flowers are edible and sweet and apparently it is also a nitrogen fixing plant, I read that the pods are narcotic but should be considered toxic? The flowers essential oil is highly valued in perfumery and a yellow dye is obtained from the bark. Heres a few picks of the plant Pm me if your interested in some seeds, im guessing they should be ready in a week or two : ) Cheers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) Hi Bardo, I have this tree growing naturally outside my house and it goes postal through all the nearby forests. It definitely has benefits that make it usuable in Permaculture. It´s very similar to Acacias. That being said, the plant is EXTREMELY invasive so be careful about having it outside. I´d be surprised if quarantine let it through and even if they do, the plants are able to take over the whole garden within just a few years. They produce ten thousands of seeds per tree and also propagate themselves with offshoots. Similar to Bamboo. So yeah, treat this tree like an Alien from another planet. It´s one of the worst pests I know and I am fighting it for years now. I hack down 10 and the next year, there are 100 new ones. You could burn them down and they´d still come back. It´s a species that was introduced into the German nature and since then, can be found all over the country. Edited November 12, 2015 by Evil Genius 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bardo Posted November 12, 2015 Thanks heaps for the info, I might skip growing this one now I know all that, prob saved me from a future nightmare : ) cheers : ) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted November 12, 2015 (edited) Yeah Bardo, I hate it like the plague when someone posts something negative in someone elses sales or trading threads. It´s extremely unfair and outrageous and I really never do that. In this particular case though, I felt like warning you before you unleash the Kraken. This plant is my declared enemy and I am fighting the battle for at least 10 years. And it doesnt seem like I´m on the winning side. Those Robinias will probably outlive my grandchildren. ;) Edited November 12, 2015 by Evil Genius Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bardo Posted November 13, 2015 Nah its all good, heaps glad you did. Sounds like a bugger to deal with and there thorns wouldn't make it any better. I did a bit of reading about it and seems they are a formidable plant, I read that laying hay/straw can stop seeds from sprouting, seems chemicals are the best hope of control atm? The underground root suckers sounds like the worst part for sure. If I hear of any good ideas for control I will be sure to let you know. All the best with it anyhow. P.S Sorry but these seeds are no longer on offer, seems way to risky to native fauna & flora Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtarman Posted November 21, 2015 On the bright side apparently the wood is quite valuable, I hear it makes a great bow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Berengar Posted November 21, 2015 Yeah the wood is great, good for various applications, great for carving, and unbelievably good for camp fires. Also it's one of the better honey bearing trees. I always thought it was native in my area, it's abundant but it gets along just fine with other trees, I would never assumed it's considered such a weed. Apparently it was naturalized after being brought from America some 400 years ago. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bardo Posted November 22, 2015 I might still grow a couple in large tubs to stop it spreading and just harvest all the flowers as they appear. I could see how this could become a weed, I noticed the other day there is about half a dozen popping up in mums front lawn. Apparently the honey from black locust is superior to honey locust? my grandma speaks highly of the honey from them in Hungary. Sounds like a great plant but geese it would suck to have your whole yard or property covered with them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gtarman Posted November 22, 2015 it would suck to have your whole yard or property covered with them. There are worse things. At least with trees manual control and poisoning tends to be pretty easy. My area is full of Madeira vine which is damn near impossible to manually control and extremely resistant to poisoning. And the shit spreads like wildfire :-( Share this post Link to post Share on other sites