Pruning Osage Orange Trees
Many pruning chores are underway at my Bedford, New York farm.
Here in the Northeast, the winter weather has been pretty mild - daytime temperatures have been in the 50s, and in some places even 60s. My outdoor grounds crew has been taking advantage of the warmer conditions and crossing off lots of tasks from our list, including blowing late-season leaves, picking up piles of branches in the woodlands in preparation for chipping, and pruning the long row of Osage orange trees along the fence of one of my horse paddocks. The Osage orange, Macular pomifera, is actually not an orange at all and is more commonly known as a hedge apple, bow wood, or bodark. The fruit is wrinkly and bumpy in appearance, and considered inedible because of the texture and taste, but they're very interesting and fun to grow.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
-
- Along one side of my North Maple Paddock by the run-in shed, I have a row of Osage orange trees. Despite the name, it is actually a member of the fig family.
-
- These trees must be pruned regularly to keep them in bounds. It is a fast grower – the shoots of a single year can grow up to three to six feet long. Here is Chhewang pruning one of the taller specimens.
-
- Chhewang is quite a skilled pruner and oversees the pruning of all our smaller trees on the farm. In discussing the pruning for these trees, I instructed him not to cut too much off the top, so they continue to grow nice and tall.
-
- The branches of the Osage are armed with stout, straight spines. Before the invention of barbed wire in the 1880s, hedges were constructed by planting young Osage orange trees closely together.
-
- The trees are small to medium-sized from 36 to 65 feet tall with bark that is deeply furrowed.
-
- This is how the Osage orange trees look when all leafed out.
-
- We planted about 300-saplings several years ago – they have all doubled and tripled in size since first planting them.
-
- The leaves are three to five inches long and about three inches wide. They are thick, firm, dark green and pale green. In autumn, the leaves turn bright yellow.
-
- The Osage orange produces a large, warty, inedible fruit that has a distinctive orange aroma.
-
- It is actually a dense cluster of hundreds of small fruits – many say it resembles the many lobes of a brain.
-
- Here is an Osage orange cut in half showing the seeds inside. When mature, the Osage orange fruit is filled with a sticky latex sap, which has been found to repel insects.
-
- Not only will they deter the pesky insects that sneak into the room, but my guests love learning about these interesting fruits.
-
- Because of the thorny branches, it is important to wear protective glasses, long sleeves, and thick gloves when working with these trees.
-
- To reach some branches, Chhewang needs to use these longer pruners.
-
- Here, one can see which half has been pruned and which half has not.
-
- Chhewang prunes out competing leaders, retaining only one strong upright with evenly-spaced branches.
-
- He also cuts out dead, damaged or diseases branches like this one.
-
- One of the tools Chhewang likes to use is my Martha Stewart long-handled tree pruner from one of my past gardening collections – these trusted tools are long-lasting, durable and cut taller branches that are more difficult to reach, especially because of the sharp thorns.
-
- Here is a pile of branches pruned from the trees. These will go through the chipper and get used later, as mulch.
-
- The Osage orange tree is native to North America. It is said that the Osage Indians made hunting bows from the beautiful hardwood of this tree.
-
- I hope these trees produce a good amount of fruits this autumn. What do you find most interesting about these Osage orange trees? Share your comments in the section below.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
