Prosopis glandulosa

Cultivation Details

Prosopis glandulosa is found from the warm temperate zone of southern USA, through to the tropics of southern Mexico. It can be found at elevations up to 3,000 metres. It thrives under high temperatures and survives in areas with very low precipitation but is then usually found in areas with groundwater reserves^[1]. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 18 - 28°c, but can tolerate 14 - 40°c^[1]. When dormant, the plant is very cold-tolerant and can survive temperatures down to about -22°c, but young growth is much more tender and can be severely damaged at -1°c^[1]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 300 - 800mm, but tolerates 200 - 1,000mm^[1]. Requires an open, sunny position and a well-drained soil^[1]. Tolerant of a range of soils, including moderately saline^[1]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7, tolerating 5 - 7.5^[1]. Established plants are very drought tolerant^[1]. A fast-growing tree^[1]. In its drier, western range, the plant occurs along streams and in low-lying areas. In areas with more rainfall, it occurs on open range or in chaparral^[1]. The plant has a very deep root system that has been known to penetrate 18 metres into the grouns and can extract moisture from the water table^[1]. Honey locust is tolerant of high intensity fires. Although all top growth may be killed, sprouts arise from underground buds that are dormant on an underground stem^[2] A long period of consistently low daily minimum temperatures during the winter provides the tree with the chilling requirement that facilitates early bud break. Once the chilling requirement is met, relatively warm minimum daily temperatures can hasten bud break^[1]. 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^[3].