How big does a black locust get and how long does it live?
Usually 30 to 50 ft in a yard with an irregular open crown, fast-growing and short-lived, with borers and heart rot commonly ending it well ahead of the other hardwoods here. Size is the saving grace on cost — it is rarely a crane job — but a hollow stem changes the felling plan entirely, and the wood is rot-resistant enough that it is worth offering as fence posts or firewood.
Spread below ground too
Root suckering is why black locust removals fail and generate callbacks. It spreads vegetatively by root runners and sprouts aggressively after being cut or damaged, so grinding the stump alone leaves a connected root system throwing suckers across the lawn for years — budget for a cut-stump herbicide treatment and a follow-up season of sucker control.
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