Shademaster Honeylocust Tree

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Description

About the Shademaster Honeylocust Tree

Our Go-To for Balanced Shade!

Like the name implies, Shademaster Honeylocust is a master of shade not too dense that your lawn thins from lack of light, but thick enough to cool the sun’s rays. Its dark, rich green foliage is striking as it emerges in the spring to form a rounded canopy ideal for average-sized yards. In some seasons, you can smell a soft fragrance from the tree’s not-so-showy flowers. In the fall the small, fern-like leaves turn golden yellow and are not an inconvenience as some other large-leafed trees can be.

Extra bonus with the Shademaster variety: it is pest and disease resistant as well as thornless—which is rare within the Honeylocust family.

Growing a Great Honeylocust

Honeylocusts are native to North America, making them a great tree for most regions. Specifically, the variety Shademaster was bred to be even more tolerant of challenging environments such as urban settings, pollution, and proximity to roads and sidewalks, as well as tolerating dense or tough soils.

They thrive and grow relatively fast in full sun to partial shade. To shape and maintain a strong canopy as the Honeylocust grows, strategically trim lower branches (no more than 25% at a time) in late winter.

Characteristics

Hardiness Zone Range 6 - 9
Shade/Sun Partial Shade - Full Sun
Soil Composition Loamy
Soil Moisture Well Drained

Zone Compatibility

This Variety's Zone Range 6 - 9
My Hardiness Zone ?
The USDA hardiness zones offer a guide to varieties that will grow well in certain climates. Each zone corresponds to the minimum winter temperatures experienced in a given area. Make sure that your hardiness zone lies within the zone compatibility range of this variety before ordering.

Tools & Supplies

Having the proper tools and supplies when growing your own can make the difference between a good harvest and a great harvest! Here's a list that our experts recommend for this variety.

Planting & Care

Learn all about how to grow flowering trees in The Growing Guide. An entire section of our website dedicated to your growing success.

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Questions & Answers

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12 Questions
Why did you choose this?

Grows well in my area, is fast growing, provides good shade and is easy to care for.

Have one and absolutely love it

Great presentation of product.

I’m tired of waiting for my local nursery trying to find one one.

How fast do they grow (compared to a hybrid poplar)?

We purchased the locust last year and this year it continues to look very healthy. It has easily doubled in size since we planted it. It has lots of foliage and is doing very well in our high desert area.

Is this a good tree for dry clay soil?

Mine is planted in a pasture in black gumbo soil with some clay mix. We had drought last year in the spring and the tree survived with minimal watering. Very hardy plant. It is doing well this spring with some 21-0-0 fertilizer.

We live in Vermont, would it grow well here?

Our website has a special feature that will help you find the best plants for you to grow in your area. Simply enter your zip code in our Hardiness Zone Finder and as you browse our page, you’ll see a small check mark next to products that are hardy to your growing zone!

https://www.starkbros.com/zone-finder

How invasive are the roots? How far from structures should I plant it?

Our 50 year old honey locust has never invaded the water or sewer lines (6 feet away), nor have the roots raised drive or walkways 8-10 feet away. In Spring, a heavenly honey smell from white blossoms.

Are they thorny?

Nope!

Hi there, is this a grafted tree?

NO these are no grafted trees.

Will Stark be offering the Shademaster honeylocust again soon?

We appreciate you reaching out to us. We do not have a guaranteed ETA on when more will become available. We are very sorry for this inconvenience and completely understand your disappointment. Rest assured, that if you sign up for a notification, you'll be one of the first to be notified when it becomes available again.

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to reach back out to us, remember that we're here for you. Have a great day!

Is this thornless?

Many of the leaves will blow away or decompose into mulch. Unlike other honeylocusts, this cultivar does not produce seeds or thorns. When you need a unique shade tree for your outdoor spaces, make sure to choose the Shademaster Honeylocust.

Do they yield pods? I’m looking for cattle fodder yield

This tree typically won't produce pods. The leaves are fernlike and composed of numerous leaflets, creating light dappled shade and making fall clean-up easy.

Other places that I've Shademaster variety honeylocust advertised, they say they are "seedless".  But your picture shows seed pods.  Does your cultivar produce seeds?

These trees are not grafted and are transplanted from seedlings.Most trees are mostly seedless but occasionally some trees will flower and produce red/brown, 10-inch-long seed pods.

Customer Reviews

11 Ratings
4.2out of 5 stars
11 Ratings

Rated 5 stars by 64% of reviewers

Rated 4 stars by 18% of reviewers

Rated 3 stars by 0% of reviewers

Rated 2 stars by 9% of reviewers

Rated 1 star by 9% of reviewers

1-10 of 11 Reviews
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 22, 2025
Awesome trees!
Love the ease of ordering, as well as their prices. But best of all, love the quality of their trees backed by their guarantee. Despite our 100° + temperatures, our Shademaster Honeylocust is thriving in our Tucson AZ sun!
Rated 5 out of 5
Jul 5, 2025
My Shademaster Honeylocust is doing well and growing fast.
My Shademaster Honeylocust is doing well and growing fast. I will order more when they come back into stock. Many thanks for a great product with safe shipping.
Rated 5 out of 5
May 22, 2025
Very hardy tree. Appears to be drought resistant.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jun 16, 2024
The bare root tree took a little longer than expected to start leafing out, but after 2 months now this 3' doozy is rocking.
Rated 5 out of 5
Mar 27, 2024
Arrived healthy and grew about a foot vertical its first summer. I recommend when planting, to add a 2 inch pvc to get water deep and direct to the root ball.
Rated 5 out of 5
Aug 15, 2023
Very healthy, growing fast. Can't wait to see the blooms.
Rated 5 out of 5
Jun 8, 2023
So far, so good
I was nervous when this tree arrived looking like a single stick, but it's doing well in our yard and it started developing buds pretty quickly. Can't wait to see it grow even more.
Rated 4 out of 5
Jan 7, 2024
Great value and quality
We bought 2 of these spring of "23" for some fairly quick growth and shade. One has seemingly done well so far, but the other one didn't do anything for about 3 months before it finally grew a couple of branches out at the graft. I am planning on contacting them for a replacement because of that. But I can say that I DO intend to purchase at least one more in addition to my replacement. For the price point, I definitely like the trees and look forward to seeing them mature.
Rated 4 out of 5
Nov 23, 2023
One of two thriving
Ordered 2 of these Honeylocust one took root and grew like crazy. The other one didn't do well at all. Sprouted one branch with leaves at the very bottom. Entire top 3/4 of the start was drid out. The single sprout died back in a month. I left it in the ground, to see if it comes back next spring. Overall, I guess 50/50 chance.
Rated 2 out of 5
Nov 23, 2023
Stick with roots
Tree was nothing but a stick with root's when it showed up. Max of 5 leaves formed off trunk and most fell off by early October. Will be surprised if it comes back in the spring.