Can volunteer Black Locust sprouts be transplanted?

I have a beautiful mature Black locust tree in my backyard.



Near it's base dozens of volunteers have sprouted!



Will these volunteers survive being transplanted?  I'd like to start of grove of these guys.

zed


edited to fix pictures

I have tried a number of times and it hasn't worked for me.  I'm going to try root cuttings this fall after the tree goes dormant to see if that will work.

If you find some that have sprouted from seeds, that may work.  The ones I have tried all came up from roots of the existing tree, and have failed miserably.

Talking about seeds - how well do they germinate from seed? My neighbor has several of the trees and in the fall I can easily get tons of seeds from the pods as they blow around. Been thinking about trying to germinate some in pots to transplant later on.

Has anyone tried taking hardwood cuttings from the suckers that come up at the base and getting them to root?

I have better news in that root suckers have worked for me.  I have only tried those in the 5-8 ft range during late winter dormancy, but near 100% success..

My old locust is about to go down as I clean roots out of the septic line 3 feet away...

Locust volunteers often come up from the roots of the primary tree. Root prune around the volunteer tree to disconnect it from the main tree. Wait 6 months or a year. If the volunteer survives it will have developed its own additional roots and will transplant much more successfully. Naturally, transplanting when it is dormant in early Spring will help. I like locust because they grow fast and provide quick shade and visual cover from a view you may not like. They also are part of an edible landscape as you can also eat the pods. I dislike them because they tend to be messy from falling branches and you have to be careful about keeping the volunteers cut down, or you'll quickly have a grove of trees instead of single trees. Black locust also make excellent, long lasting fence posts. They can make a decent cash crop. I like honey locust because, to me, they are a more graceful looking tree. And they have no thorns. Another tree I like because of fast growth, shade and cover is cottonwood. Plus, while its not particularly a good firewood, the trees grow fast and provide lots of wood.

I have had great success transplanting in northern Michigan. They do like sun and sandy acid soil. Something to replace all the red and white Oak trees we are losing from wilt and hungry caterpillars. So sad 100 year old forest will be changed for ever and no governator DOF even care to address.