Our local garden centre has their annual inventory reduction sale on. I took a trip there, looked around and saw a tree that I remembered from reading that was a great "bee tree". So, at 50% off, I couldn't resist.
The 'Purple Robe' Locust is a cultivar of the species Black Honey Locust. The flowers are borne I imagine just the same, drooping, very fragrant and attractive to the bees, violet-purple in colour. The tree grows very quickly and will bear the flowers this May coming up, near the end of May I understand, for a short time of about 10 days. The tree I bought is actually quite tall, I venture maybe 12 feet or so, so by next spring I should have a good sized tree, hopefully with lots of nectar producing flowers for the bees.
This past spring I also purchased a locust tree, Yellow Locust. I am very impressed with the pretty leaves, the colour of the leaves being that bright yellow green, it looks good where it is and has actually grown quite a bit since I planted it, I expect next spring it too will bear some pretty flowers, which colour, I have no clue. Have a beautiful day, a great day. Cindi