Honey locust trees (Gleditsia triacanthos) are widely appreciated landscape trees, valued for their adaptability and distinctive appearance. This article compares two prominent honey locust cultivars, Shademaster and Sunburst, to help in selecting the most suitable tree for specific landscaping needs.
Understanding the Honey Locust Species
The honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is a deciduous tree native to central and eastern North America. It is known for its relatively fast growth rate and its open, spreading canopy structure, typically reaching 30 to 70 feet tall with a similar spread. This species is tolerant of various urban conditions, including pollution, drought, and a wide range of soil types, making it a favored choice in many landscaping applications. Its delicate, fern-like foliage allows for dappled shade, which is often beneficial for underplantings.
Shademaster Honey Locust Profile
The ‘Shademaster’ honey locust is a popular cultivar known for its robust shade. It typically develops an upright, vase-shaped form, maturing to 50 to 75 feet tall with a 25 to 40-foot spread. Its growth habit features upright ascending branches, creating a somewhat rectangular or irregularly vase-shaped outline.
Foliage is consistent medium to dark green throughout the growing season, turning golden-yellow in autumn. As a thornless and seedless variety, ‘Shademaster’ is a low-maintenance option for residential and urban landscapes. It exhibits excellent hardiness and adaptability to diverse conditions, including urban stressors like salt and pollution.
Sunburst Honey Locust Profile
The ‘Sunburst’ honey locust is celebrated for its striking ornamental foliage, offering a vibrant display of color. This cultivar generally exhibits a spreading, rounded, or irregularly pyramidal growth habit. It reaches a mature height of approximately 30 to 40 feet with a spread of 20 to 40 feet, making it somewhat smaller than ‘Shademaster’.
The most distinctive feature of ‘Sunburst’ is its foliage coloration. New growth emerges a brilliant golden-yellow, gradually transitioning to a lighter yellow-green or lime green as the leaves mature. In autumn, the leaves revert to a bright golden-yellow. Like ‘Shademaster’, ‘Sunburst’ is a thornless and seedless variety, making it a desirable choice for landscaping. It also demonstrates strong tolerance to urban conditions, including drought and salt.
Direct Comparison of Key Attributes
Comparing ‘Shademaster’ and ‘Sunburst’ reveals distinct differences. Foliage color is the most obvious contrast. ‘Shademaster’ maintains a classic medium to dark green leaf color throughout the spring and summer, transitioning to yellow in fall. In contrast, ‘Sunburst’ offers a dynamic color display, with new leaves emerging bright golden-yellow before fading to a lime-green, then returning to yellow for autumn.
Regarding mature size and shape, ‘Shademaster’ typically grows taller, reaching 50 to 75 feet, and often develops a more upright, vase-shaped or rectangular pyramidal crown. ‘Sunburst’ is generally shorter, around 30 to 40 feet tall, with a broader, more rounded, or irregularly pyramidal spread.
Shade density is another important distinction. ‘Shademaster’ is known for providing a more substantial shade, making it highly effective for cooling areas, though its fine foliage still permits some light for underplantings. ‘Sunburst’, with its more open canopy and lighter foliage, casts a dappled or filtered shade, allowing more sunlight to reach the ground below. Both cultivars share a generally fast growth rate, though ‘Shademaster’ is sometimes noted as slightly faster.
For ornamental value, ‘Shademaster’ offers a traditional, robust shade tree aesthetic with consistent green foliage. ‘Sunburst’ stands out with its vibrant, ever-changing golden-yellow and lime-green leaves, providing significant visual interest. Both are generally resistant to common pests and diseases, though some sources suggest ‘Sunburst’ might be more susceptible to honeylocust pod gall midge in some areas. ‘Shademaster’ is ideal where consistent, dense shade is desired, while ‘Sunburst’ is preferred for its unique color and lighter shade, often used as a specimen tree.
Selecting the Right Honey Locust for Your Needs
Choosing between ‘Shademaster’ and ‘Sunburst’ honey locust depends heavily on specific landscaping goals and aesthetic preferences. If the primary objective is to create a robust, consistent shade canopy for cooling a patio or a significant portion of a yard, the ‘Shademaster’ is often the more suitable option. Its denser foliage and larger mature size provide effective shade.
Alternatively, if the desire is for a tree that offers vibrant, unique foliage color and a more open, dappled shade, the ‘Sunburst’ honey locust is an excellent choice. Its golden-yellow new growth provides a bright visual accent, and the filtered light it casts is beneficial for lawns and other plants growing beneath it. Both cultivars share the desirable traits of being thornless and seedless, along with excellent tolerance to urban conditions like drought, pollution, and various soil types. Considering the intended function and desired visual impact will guide the decision toward the most appropriate honey locust for any landscape.