Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis ‘Suncole’ – Sunburst® Honeylocust

Botanical Name: Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis ‘Suncole’

The Sunburst® Honeylocust is a cultivar of the Honey Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos. This tree is found growing naturally in the midwestern and eastern United States. Gleditsia is named after a director of the botanical gardens in Berlin in the eighteenth century, Johann Gottlieb Gleditsch.

The variety ‘Inermis’ means thornless. This cultivar is also known as the Sunburst® Thornless Honeylocust as it does not grow thorns like the species does. This tree is very popular for its bright chartreuse-yellow foliage, unique only to the Sunburst® Honeylocust. The foliage brings bright color as well as fine texture to a landscape, making the Sunburst® a valuable landscaping tree. This cultivar is slightly smaller than most of the others, except the Imperial® Honeylocust. It has a rounded, irregularly shaped, pyramidal crown and grows to a height of 35-40 feet with a spread of 30-35 feet.

The leaves of the Sunburst® Honeylocust are pinnately compound and grow to a length of 6-8 inches. The fresh leaves emerge bright yellow in the spring and mature to a mid-green color in the summer. In the fall, they put on a beautiful golden yellow display. The twigs grow in a zig-zag pattern. The spring flowers are greenish-yellow and inconspicuous, not contributing to the beauty of the tree. However, the flowers are fragrant and attract bees.

This tree grows best in full sun. It grows well in urban environments, tolerating drought conditions and pollutants. It is also adaptable to different types of soils and conditions, wet or dry.

It can be troubled by gall midge, which causes distortion of the twigs.