[JustaDumbBlonde]

I have a 2 acre thicket of black locust that I cut fence posts from because the wood does not rot. They send out a lateral shallow root from which little trees sprout. It is almost impossible to contain them. Once they get going they grow very quickly. I do absolutely nothing to care for them. The blossoms in the spring are intoxicating.

The mimosa grow very quickly and my honeybees love them. They are semi-difficult to contain and do best on the bank of a pond or a low spot that holds some moisture. They will grow away from water, but a bit more slowly. The wood is very green and flexible, so they tend not to break in storms. I do nothing to care for them except trimming low limbs to encourage them to 'umbrella'.

I have only 1 catalpa tree. It is kind of an oddity, so I keep it. I don't do anything to care for it. It is close to my garden and has never caused a problem that I am aware of.

[MrB]

Thanks for the info.

Sounds like the black locust needs to be on a property boundary or in a fence row.

One thing you might not know about the mimosa (lead tree, luecaena) is that it is a nitrogen fixer, which is why I wanted to use it. I have seen videos (Backyardfoodproduction.com) where they plant the mimoso between the rows in their garden to act as fertilizer. You can also cut the trees back to nearly nothing before winter, and till the organic matter into the soil, or feed the leaves & pods to rabbits.