Robinia pseudoacacia 'Sandraudiga'

Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Sandraudiga’ (Black locust ‘Sandraudiga’) was selected from the Dutch town of Zundert, by Jacques Lombarts of Lombarts Tree Nursery in 1937. It is a large tree, about 20 metres tall and 15 metres wide with a transparent, conical crown that becomes oval when the tree gets older. Like Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Unifoliola’, Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Sandraudiga’ is a very fast grower and the leaves of the two selections share similarities, too. 

The black locust ‘Sandraudiga’ blooms hanging, cream white to light pink legume racemes in June. With its highest nectar and pollen value, its fragrant flowers are very popular among bees and butterflies, though the tree does not bloom abundantly until it is older. The ‘Sandraudiga’ selection rarely bears fruit. The oval, irregular pinnate leaves bud green, turning grey-green with a blue underside in summer and make for beautiful filtered daylight. Before the tree sheds its leaves in autumn, it turns yellow. Compared to other robinias, the leaves of the black locust ‘Sandraudiga’ are large; only the leaves of the ‘Unifoliola’ are larger. Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Sandraudiga’ has grey-brown, deeply furrowed bark and brown twigs with many red thorns. 

It can withstand heat and drought, air pollution and salt spray quite well; of all the robinias, the ‘Sandraudiga’ selection is one of the most wind-tolerant, and it can also tolerate pavement. That makes the tree perfect for planting in wide streets and avenues, provided it has a proper underground growth environment. Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Sandraudiga’ only grows in light environments and prefers an environment in quite nutrient-rich, dry to moist soil. As a pioneer species, however, the strong tree is not very demanding and therefore it can also definitely be used to plant in highly urbanised areas, e.g. in squares and parks.