# Honey Locust Problems



## MJLsLawnCareNmo (Oct 6, 2005)

Back in late July/ early August, a neighbor of one of my customers for lawn care asked me about a honey locust he had in his front yard. First off, the tree is only about a year old, about 3" in diameter, and 12 feet tall. It was planted as a street tree to replace an ash tree that was originally there that the city pulled out. Basically the tree looked like it was burning up. Not many leaves on it. Most of the leaves were turning yellow and a few of the leaves had reddish brown spots on them. The trunk of the tree had in a few spots on the bark what looked like clear slime comming out. 

Does any one have any idea what this could be, or what the problem could be? Any recent problems with honey locusts? I live in the South East part of Michigan if that helps.


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## treeman45246 (Oct 6, 2005)

Honey locusts are one of my favorite trees, and will withstand a large amount of abuse in a normal streetscape situation. I've seen them take repeated defoliation, lack of watering, heavy salt loads and the poorest of soils and grow right through these problems... However, it sounds like this one could be having some problems with borers, which is fairly serious. 
Pictures would help us to see if the tree is even healthy enough to be turned around, and I would check the trunk flare first to see if this tree was planted correctly. If it is, borers can be treated with systemic Merit, using a soil soak. Lindane isn't available anymore, ( EPA regulations, danger level pesticide) but was labelled for this use and very effective. Certified pesticide applicators should mix and apply these chemicals if they are necessary. 
Probably your first step is to contact the city forester, if there is one. The tree could be under guarantee from the planting contractor and a replacement could be requested.


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## MJLsLawnCareNmo (Oct 6, 2005)

treeman45246 said:


> Honey locusts are one of my favorite trees, and will withstand a large amount of abuse in a normal streetscape situation. I've seen them take repeated defoliation, lack of watering, heavy salt loads and the poorest of soils and grow right through these problems... However, it sounds like this one could be having some problems with borers, which is fairly serious.
> Pictures would help us to see if the tree is even healthy enough to be turned around, and I would check the trunk flare first to see if this tree was planted correctly. If it is, borers can be treated with systemic Merit, using a soil soak. Lindane isn't available anymore, ( EPA regulations, danger level pesticide) but was labelled for this use and very effective. Certified pesticide applicators should mix and apply these chemicals if they are necessary.
> Probably your first step is to contact the city forester, if there is one. The tree could be under guarantee from the planting contractor and a replacement could be requested.



Thanks treeman45246. I will see if I can get a few pictures of the tree and the problem areas on it.
I'm kind of new to the tree planting thing, but what do you mean by trunk flare?
In any event your post was helpful. Thanks


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## treeman45246 (Oct 6, 2005)

http://www.treesaregood.com/treecare/tree_planting.aspx

Hopefully that links up and tells you what you need to know about trunk flare. Put in the simplest terms, many if not most trees come out of the nursery buried too deep in the soil. When planting, we should be pulling this soil off the trunk to the proper depth in order for the tree to carry out its functions properly. Roots should flare out right at ground level. Hike out in the woods and observe trees as they occur naturally - you'll see the trunk flares. Man-planted trees often look like telephone poles coming out of the ground.


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## MJLsLawnCareNmo (Oct 6, 2005)

Treeman45246, good stuff. That website is pretty neat. I had a feeling that it had to do with the base of the tree, but there is always more to learn so I figured I'd ask.

Thanks.


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