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Fabaceae FAMILY

Gleditsia caspica

Gleditsia caspica

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Tree
GrowthMedium

Gleditsia caspica requires a hot summer if it is to thrive. It is fairly cold-hardy, with older trees being able to tolerate temperatures down to around -20°c when fully dormant. The tree has a habit though, especially when young, of producing new growth until quite late in the season. Especially in areas where the summers are not hot, this new growth will not ripen fully and will be liable to be cut back by the cold in the winter. Older plants tend to lose this habit. Generally, the plant should be considered to only be hardy to about -5°c when young, especially if growing in areas with cooler summers[1]. Easily grown in a loamy soil, requiring a sunny position[1]. Succeeds in most soils[2] including sandy ones[3]. Established plants tolerate drought[4] and atmospheric pollution[2]. This species is often confused in cultivation with the closely related Gleditsia sinensis, many of the trees grown under that name are acturally this species[1]. This tree is remarkable for the number and length of the spines growing on its trunk, which makes it one of the most formidably armed of temperate trees[1]. Trees have a light canopy, they come into leaf late in the spring and drop their leaves in early autumn[2] making them an excellent top storey tree in a woodland garden. Plants in this genus are notably resistant to honey fungus[2]. This species has a symbiotic relationship with certain soil bacteria, these bacteria form nodules on the roots and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[2].

Propagation

Seed - pre-soak for 24 hours in warm water and then sow in spring in a greenhouse[5]. The seed should have swollen up, in which case it can be sown, if it has not swollen then soak it for another 24 hours in warm water. If this does not work then file away some of the seed coat but be careful not to damage the embryo[5]. Further soaking should then cause the seed to swell. One it has swollen, the seed should germinate within 2 - 4 weeks at 20°c. As soon as they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual deep pots and plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer. Give the plants some protection from the cold for their first few winters outdoors. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Gleditsia+caspica>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  4. [4]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  5. [5]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  6. [6]Legumes of Northern Eurasia — Yakovlev. G. Sytin. A. & Roskov. Yu. · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. · 1996 · ISBN 0-947643-97-4 ↩︎For the academic only, a list of species growing in N. Eurasia with terse details on habitat, range, uses etc.
  7. [7]Gleditsia caspica Desf. Fabaceae — Naiba Mehdiyeva, Valida Alizade, Narel Y. Paniagua Zambrana, · Springer International Publishing · 2016 · http://10.1007/978-3-319-50009-6_67-1 ↩︎
  8. [8]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  9. [9]Manual of the Trees of N. America. — Sargent. C. S. · Dover Publications Inc. New York. · 1965 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ · ISBN 0-486-20278-X ↩︎Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  10. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎