You can transplant it into another … Maclura pomifera, commonly known as the Osage orange, horse apple, hedge, or hedge apple tree is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, typically growing to 8 to 15 metres (30–50 ft) tall. When hunting for wild game, consider gun age, chamber and barrel length, choke, rounds, reloading spent shells and taking the shot. When cut open, the fruit has a white pulp inside, and a milky sap, with numerous small seeds crowded together.
His home life is a perfect complement to his professional life as editor in chief at GRIT and Capper’s Farmer magazines. A very informative site about the Osage Orange Tree.Examples of Selfbows from the Osage Orange Tree.Osage Orange Staves and Billets for the Bowyer 319 835 5892.James Easter,Bowyer.This is also an Educational and Historical site on Osage Orange. In future videos we'll split bow staves and follow a few bow building beginners through the process at the OJAM in central Oklahoma. Splitting Osage Orange Firewood Split the wood while it’s green’ is a saying we have all known since the dawn of time. When handling cut pieces of the orange-colored wood, it is best to wear gloves as some people have an allergic skin reaction when exposed to the sap. A very informative site about the Osage Orange Tree.Examples of Selfbows from the Osage Orange Tree.Osage Orange Staves and Billets for the Bowyer 319 835 5892.James Easter,Bowyer.This is also an Educational and Historical site on Osage Orange. Chainsaws have been known to spark when cutting this wood, and thus it also goes by the name Ironwood. Cutting is most feasible with smaller plants. I used up most of my scrap pieces to make these end grain cutting boards. Believe it or not, but the heat down in that draw had him napping on an old towel, in spite of the chainsaws singing and trees crashing down nearby.
Osage orange can be mechanically cut with a chainsaw, tree shear, hand loppers or other suitable tools. Tallgrass Custom Wood Products is one of the few sawmills producing lumber from Osage-orange (also called "hedge") and black locust trees. Select a suitable Osage orange tree. Larry, So, you want to know how to effectively control Osage-orange (a.k.a., hedge). Damaging Agents- Although Osage-orange is one of the healthiest tree species in … The tree was once widely planted to create wind breaks, living fences and to provide farmers and ranchers with sufficient fenceposts to keep their respective places secure. Repeated cutting may be necessary to control Osage orange completely because it resprouts from the stump and by root suckers, and may cover large areas vegetatively.Around here, Osage Orange is known as Hedge, Hedge Apple and Bodark, but rarely Osage Orange and virtually never by its binomial, Maclura pomifera. The farmers call osage orange … Osage is remarkably free from insect and fungal enemies.
Osage has thorns, furrowed bark and often grows in association with elm and locust in bottom land forests along creeks. Due to the thick growing conditions, the tops often get tangled with one another making it difficult to safely get the logs on the ground. I don’t know when I will sink these posts and stretch the new fence, but when I do, I will be sure to report on it here. When placed in water, the liquid will turn yellow. Made of Osage Orange or Bodark as it is commonly called. Native Americans cherished the wood for bow-making due to its strong yet pliable branches. Osage Orange is delightful to turn, with a high natural polish. They are about 12” square but the long one 12” by 22”. Learn how to sharpen serrated and non-serrated knives, what tools to sharpen them with and the technique used to achieve the finest of edges. The micro lumber pieces may develop a bow or twist that will lay flat with minimal pressure. Osage is a very rot resistant wood. It was freshly cut in February of 2021, completely wax sealed, and contains moisture. In fact, the fruit of Osage Orange is commonly used as insect repellant due because it contains elemol, a chemical effective at repelling mosquitos, ticks, crickets and spiders. Pieces of Hard Wood Osage Orange for Sale The wood is harvested locally in the midwest.,
The fruits secrete a sticky white latex when cut or damaged. Thanks for this guide Jim. Thicker branches make good corner posts, while thinner branches will do for line posts. The trees should be cut as close to ground level as possible, with KRISTIN HURLIN Fences on your farm or homestead … Osage orange fruit cut open, showing white, seedy pulp inside. The seedling I put in the ground came from a tree that grew from one of those cuttings. Learn about how a good hauler will handle your heavy stuff with ease, on rough terrain as well as smooth. As it ages and picks up UV light, it turns into a medium brown/orange color. I love the tree for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is that its heartwood is a lovely yellow-orange color that makes great hand tool handles. Though it might be difficult to tell in this photo, the day was clear and free of haze, but our neighbors to the south were burning off their native-grass pastures and brushland. Meriwether Lewis Sends Osage Orange Cuttings to Jefferson Maple and Osage Orange Cutting Board -Thick - Clear Non Marking Rubber Feet - Large - 11" x 18" x 1 1/2" Thick - Hard Maple - Osage Orange MyWoodShopGifts.,
So we packed up the dogs, saws and some water in our 1964 IH pickup truck and headed off in low-range to the bottom of a steep draw where I found some relatively straight hedge growing last winter. Cut the stem of the Osage orange to harvest it from the tree before it is fully ripe. Osage orange fruit are definitely not edible, and most foraging animals will not eat them. Many think of Osage orange as a large bush rather than a tree. Stay tuned. Fast & Free shipping on many items! The tree is commonly called "bodark" which is derived from a French word meaning "bow wood." Similarly, black locust is extremely durable and naturally resistant to insect damage and rot. If planted close together, Osages would grow only to about 20 or 30 feethe Osage-orange is a small- to medium-sized tree. Due to its l… It was smoky out there, but that’s just another sure sign of spring in Osage County. I like making projects with osage orange and have made a few in the last 6 months..one is a bottle. It sounds like I should go ahead and cut it into 8′ sections and then split those, seal the ends and let them dry for a while. The distinctive fruit, a multiple fruit, is roughly spherical, bumpy, 8 to 15 centimetres (3–6 in) in diameter, and turns bright yellow-green in the fall.,
Osage-orange sprouts vigorously, even following cutting of interior rows in windbreaks. Tree Infomation. It is also bow wood to the Indians. This Argentine Osage Orange material has incredible golden to bright yellow color! One of the most difficult things about harvesting osage bow staves is getting the trees to drop once cut. Website: http://www.twistedstave.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twistedstave/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clayhayeshunter/ Connect with him on I’d been trying to figure out something to do to make use of a large (14-18″ diameter) osage orange I cut down this Spring. Lucky for us, there is no shortage of Osage Orange on our farm. Between anchor posts, gate posts and line posts I calculated we needed about 15 new posts — after sawing in the heat for about an hour we had 30 posts to load into the truck. This can be difficult, especially on large trees, due to the hardness of the wood. raises hair sheep, heritage cattle and many varieties of open-pollinated corn with his wife, Karen, on their rural Osage County, Kansas farm. These staves were harvested in spring when there were no fruits so other features are used in identification. Because of its hard, decay-resistant wood, the Osage Orange once came close to extinction because native populations were over harvested for the railroad tie manufacturing business. It must have a relatively straight trunk or branches and be a suitable length and diameter for a fence post.,
He sent the cuttings to his boss, President Thomas Jefferson, who then sent them to a friend in Philadelphia. Osage-orange is the hardest and longest lasting wood of any native tree in North America. In a stroke of virtual madness brought on by sunshine and warm temperatures, we put our kitchen remodeling project on hold and went out to the hedgerows and harvested some Osage Orange fenceposts to support an upcoming fencing project. The Osage-orange, Maclura pomifera, is an ancient tree, a prehistoric survivor. Google+.. When first cut, Osage orange trees bleed a white, milky sap that serves as a glue or sealant. It is kiln dried and surfaced on two sides. Get the best deals on Osage Orange Lumber and find everything you'll need to make your crafting ideas come to life with eBay.com. It will take four to six weeks for your new cutting to set roots. They sought it for their bows. Because Osage Orange trees are usually small and gnarly, very few make suitable saw logs. Although girdling has not been tried as yet on Osage orange, it may prove successful on smaller trees that do not have thick bark. Though related to the mulberry, it is alone in its genus, and is native to the North American continent, where it thrives in zones 5-9—across the Great Plains and up to Ontario. One helpful characteristic that can help separate it from lookalikes such as Mulberry or Black Locust (besides being heavier) is that Osage Orange contains a water-soluble yellow dye, so putting shavings into water will turn the water yellow. Untreated hedge posts last about as long as steel (about 30 years) in this part of Kansas, so there’s no durability tradeoff in using that which nature provides. Cut the Osage-orange tree down to just above ground level, if possible, when the tree is actively growing. Cut down the trunk or branch. Properties of the sap protect the wood from decay by killing soil-born organisms. No literature on the silviculture of naturally regenerated forest stands of Osage-orange is known. Making your own traditional archery equipment, or even your own self bow or longbow is a great way to get more involved with archery and bow hunting, improve your self reliance, bushcraft, and survival skills. My recommendation: during the fall or winter with a chainsaw, make a fresh stump cut or girdle on your chosen trees and then apply either Garlon 3A (triclopyr) or Pathway/Tordon (picloram) to the fresh cut.Harvesting osage can be a challenge due to the tangled tops and thick growing conditions.I'm attending the Oklahoma Selfbow Jamboree, OJAM, and the hosts were kind enough to let us harvest some bow wood on their property. While hard to find, straight-grained Osage Orange is an ideal wood for making compound bows. Captain Meriwether Lewis obtained some Osage Orange cuttings from a gardener in Saint Louis. These "hedgerows" were created to reduce soil erosion. Now, besides firewood the tree is commonly … Lucky for us, there is no shortage of Osage Orange on our farm. Cutting Board 1 by X. Because of its hard, decay-resistant wood, the Osage Orange once came close to extinction because native populations were over harvested for the railroad tie manufacturing business. Osage Orange is one of the best tree species we have for building selfbows.
Our 1964 International Harvester (don’t let the later-model grill fool you – blame it on a deer) 3/4-ton 4-wheel-drive pickup walked right out of that steep draw in low-range and granny gear at an idle — with more than 1000-pounds of post in the back. Preheat the oven to 150 F. Slice the Osage orange into 1/4-inch thick slices. It commonly grows 30 to 40 feet tall, occasionally as tall as 50 to 60. settlers moving into the region found that the Osage-orange possessed several admirable qualities.
All photos and George Jr.’s towel courtesy Karen Keb.
Finally made it back up to high ground. 1. The Osage orange tree is an interesting plant that many people are not aware of even existing. If the fruit is crushed it exudes a bitter, milky juice. It is a member of the mulberry family, Moraceae.
This Osage Orange material has incredible golden to bright yellow color! When freshly cut, the heartwood is a lustrous yellow, which over time often develops streaks of orange. Living fences, such as this mature Osage orange fence, have no problem holding large livestock. Historically found in the Red River Valley of Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, the trees were planted by the millions for use as a natural wind barrier. You can never have enough fence posts on hand.Despite the name "Osage orange", it is not related to the orange. Osage Orange can be identified from similar looking species due to the water soluble yellow dye the wood naturally contains. This video covers how to identify osage orange, what to look for in terms of quality, how to identify a good bow stave, and how to cut bow staves safely. Osage Orange is one of the best tree species we have for building selfbows. Since stout wooden fenceposts cost us $8 – $20 or more apiece and medium-duty steel t-posts are around $4.50 on sale, and since our farm is home to hundreds of Osage Orange trees, we are happy to trade a little labor and some chainsaw gas to gather posts as we need them.
The newest member of the hedge-post harvesting crew, George Jr. is a robust 10-week-old Cairn Terrier. Other scientific names in the past for Osage orange have been Ioxylon pomiferum and Toxylon pomiferum. I made one about 4 years ago for my brother that is used regularly and it is basically unscarred. As it ages and picks up UV light, it turns into a medium brown/orange color. Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved | Ogden Publications, Inc. Used a a fence post, it can stay good in the ground for 100 years. I commute to work in this truck — what she lacks in lovely, she gains in brute capability. Hank Will Trunk diameters rarely reach 2' and obtaining long lengths of lumber is difficult. Make the cut as flat as possible. Cutting Osage Orange Fenceposts: Untreated Hedge Lasts Like Steel. The wood is perfect for certain uses, such as for making archery bows, and it can even be processed to create a yellow-colored dye. Harvest time matters little in my opinion.