Hedge Apples - If you are in Northeast Illinois

[meatCKR]

Got a nice tall straight Osage tree on my property. This time of year she drops a lot of nice Hedge Apples.  If you ever wanted to take a stab at growing your own Osage Trees for future bow wood and you happen to live in or near Northeaster Illinois, send me a PM. I'll PM you back my address and you can stop by and take as many as you like. I think there is about 100 in this pile.



Here is the tree that dropped them.  Don't know if this means these Hedge Apples will produce nice tall and straight trees, but you never know.



Steve

[Duncan]

How do you get them to grow? There are some around where I live and I have got the fruit but my efforts to get them to germinate have been fruitless. No pun intended  

[meatCKR]

I've not grown trees from seed myself, but a quick google search returned a link to an article Here:

http://www.newsleader.com/story/life/2014/12/13/growing-osage-orange-trees-seed/20287053/

I like the idea of starting the seeds in pots till they are little seedlings and then transplanting them outside.

--Steve

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I see at least a couple bows In your tree!

[Captain*Kirk]

Whereabouts in Northeast Illinois?

[Soonerlongbow]

My Grandmother has a Bois D' Arc tree in her driveway that is every bit of 5-6' in diameter! The driveway itself is part of the old Butterfield Stagecoach line in what used to be an old Choctaw town in SE Oklahoma that was shelled with cannons for hiding weapons and wounded Confederate soldiers during the war.

[meatCKR]

Captain - I am over by Lake Michigan about 15 minutes south of the Wisconsin border.

--Steve

[Mudd]

Gather the fruit into a five gallon bucket. Fill the bucket about half was with fruit then cover with water. The bucket will be about 3/4 full.

Store the bucket in a cool place making sure that the water level stays to the point that the fruit is covered.

Come spring take your bucket to an area when you want or can st least start seed. You will need something large enough to mash the seed.(I used an aluminum ball bat)

Once you have successfully made a slurry of the fruit dig a line in the dirt. I used the corner of a hoe to make my planting site.)

Pour the slurry down the row then cover with dirt and slightly damp down. Water the area pretty good and you're done.

What you've done is start a fence line that was used in our country for years. Just let it grow until it's "head high and hog tight"...lol

This will start several hundred seedlings and you can dig and transplant where you would like to grow a tree.

Be sure to dispose of all seedlings that you won't be using. IMHO

This is easy but if you have questions I'm happy to attempt an answer.

God bless,Mudd    

[meatCKR]

Thanks for the info Mudd.  May try that myself.  I've had inquiry as to whether I will ship these.  Answer is no.  Just offered these to any locals that might want to drive by and pick some up.

Thanks!

Steve

[Captain*Kirk]

Originally posted by meatCKR:
Captain - I am over by Lake Michigan about 15 minutes south of the Wisconsin border.

--Steve

...then you might be my next door neighbor...!

[meatCKR]

Awesome!  Captain - sent you a PM.

[Eric Krewson]

I leave the fruit in a bucket on the shady side of the house over the winter, everything turns to mush.

I wear rubber gloves and separated the seeds from the mush and plant the recovered seeds a couple inches apart in a trench in the woods with about 1" of soil over them. I do this in early spring.

When the seedlings are about 2" tall I transplant them to gallon pots. I let the seedlings grow in the pot for about a year. Be mindful of the taproot that will grow out the bottom of the pot, you don't want the seedling taking root where you  place the pot.

As the seedlings grow I cull all the crooked, twisted ones, keeping only the straightest ones for later transplanting.

[Steve Kendrot]

How long before they will yield a stave?