Gleditsia triacanthos var. Inermis Shademaster

The ACT Government sheet puts it in full sun, rates its frost and drought tolerance high, calls it fast growing with medium longevity, and accepts any soil, limestone and heavy clay among them. The South Australian Plant Selector also gives full sun and drought tolerance, lists sand, loam or clay, alkaline to acid, with minimal supplementary watering, lists light frost tolerance, and suggests an autumn prune to keep the shape; no other reference read gives pruning advice for Shademaster. The Sunburst page carries honey locust's climate from NSW WeedWise; no reference read gives a climate zone for Shademaster itself.

The Queensland fact sheet says that, for now, honey locust is free of the insects and diseases that might affect its growth; the NC State toolbox, an American reference, reports rust, mildew, leaf spot, cankers, borers and webworms on honey locust.

The ACT Government sheet lists it as shade for streets, parks and shopping precincts, and as fit for towns because it carries no thorns and almost no fruit, with an example on London Circuit in Canberra, where HortFlora also records it. The sheet wants an available soil volume of at least 45 cubic metres, and notes that several cultivars of the thornless form have been declared weeds around watercourses elsewhere in Australia. HortFlora says a New Jersey nursery introduced it in 1956. Beside Sunburst, the golden form, Shademaster keeps dark green leaves and is the larger tree on these figures: 11 to 20 m tall against 9 to 10 m.

Queensland lists honey locust as category 3 restricted matter, which may not be sold, given away or released into the environment, and every other Gleditsia species as prohibited matter; its fact sheet names Shademaster among the so-called thornless varieties that fall under the same controls as the wild tree. Six New South Wales regions list honey locust as a priority weed whose recommended measures say a person should not buy or sell it; the Central Tablelands entry alone excludes garden varieties derived from var. inermis cultivars, without naming any. Western Australia's Organism List gives the species as permitted; no other state's register was read. The HortOS guide on specifying and procuring trees covers the standard, clause and inspection.

The Queensland fact sheet says the so-called thornless varieties, Shademaster among them, either grow thorns later in life or give thorny seedlings. The ACT Government sheet says Shademaster suckers if its roots are disturbed, and not to plant it near nature reserves, creeks or watercourses.