January 20, 2022

Maintaining My Osage Orange Trees

We're getting so much pruning work done here at my Bedford, New York farm.

Here in the Northeast, winter weather can sometimes be very erratic - below freezing temperatures one day and mild the next. Whenever possible, my outdoor grounds crew takes advantage of the favorable conditions to get lots of tasks crossed off our list, including pruning the long rows of Osage orange trees along the fence of one of my horse paddocks. Last year, we limbed them up, meaning pruned the lower branches to improve shape and visibility. This year, the crew is tackling the tops to encourage fruitfulness and growth. The Osage orange, Macular pomifera, 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.