Maclura pomifera (Osage Orange) - Study

[penumbra]

Interesting article. To be honest, it is something I would never have considered bonsai-able. This is case case where I loved to be proved wrong.
I lived on an old estate called Locust Hill in Markham Virginia for a couple years that had some very old Osage. The trees were about 200 years old but had been topped and were not more than about 30 feet tall. The one you posted in Whitepost is magnificent and about 20 minutes from my house.
One experience I had with Osage was as firewood. Don't put it in a fireplace ..... it throws sparks like the forth of July.
Another experience was making a bow in a workshop. It was super hard to work and took three 10 to 12 hour days to produce a somewhat crooked longbow that I still have. I have a couple staves for bowmaking I have had for at least 10 years. Its never going to happen.
Bonsai? Who would have thunk?
Thanks for sharing.

 

[hemmy]

I realized I missed posting some trees. These are all from the 2017 seed or root cuttings from that stock. Most of these are leaning or horizontal, which is influenced by the habit of the Harrod Tree and also the more irregular forms from Peter Adams' Bonsai with Japanese Maples book.

 

[MHBonsai]

Fantastic post. Thank you for documenting it so well. I have also been experimenting some with them, and have had great luck air layering large branches.

They seem to be strong growers in the USA south climate. I love the bark on these.

 

[hemmy]

On the subject of air layers, callous formation is king. Rooting hormone helps generate that tissue that can then differentiate into roots. I’ve used 0.1% IBA on two smaller air without much luck. The smallest had some small white callous spots above the cut which I think would have developed into roots. I cut it snd stuck it in some pumice, while it still had some green leaves. It started throwing roots. The larger one which was an ugly twisted trunk with wire embedded, never calloused at the base and didn’t make any attempt to grow after separating it late this year. I think next time 0.3 to 0.8% IBA will be tried along with more patience to overwinter the air layer until the following Spring.

 

[Rivka]

Thank you for the great thread! Came across this tree locally and like usual searched here to learn about it’s potential as a bonsai subject.
All species should get so lucky to have a overview thread like this!

 

[19Mateo83]

Interesting article. To be honest, it is something I would never have considered bonsai-able. This is case case where I loved to be proved wrong.
I lived on an old estate called Locust Hill in Markham Virginia for a couple years that had some very old Osage. The trees were about 200 years old but had been topped and were not more than about 30 feet tall. The one you posted in Whitepost is magnificent and about 20 minutes from my house.
One experience I had with Osage was as firewood. Don't put it in a fireplace ..... it throws sparks like the forth of July.
Another experience was making a bow in a workshop. It was super hard to work and took three 10 to 12 hour days to produce a somewhat crooked longbow that I still have. I have a couple staves for bowmaking I have had for at least 10 years. Its never going to happen.
Bonsai? Who would have thunk?
Thanks for sharing.

You still got those staves?

 

[hemmy]

Below is a root cutting from circa 2020, that consisted to 2 branches this Spring. I cut it back 3 times and easily could have done more if I had been less forgetful. The average leaf size in this one gallon container is 1.5"

I put this one into my favorite container (@sorce), but only as a placeholder until I get a thicker trunk version with more interest to replace it. I just wish the container was larger to fit some other trees. I didn’t work real hard on pruning and it slowed considerably in the small pot. It doesn’t have the ramification needed, but I think the leaves will go smaller.

 

[hemmy]

View attachment 400676

now middle of the 8th growing season and cleaned up trunk chop a few weeks ago. The original low sacrifice scars still remain and we’re re-wounded and covered. It’s not pictured but the recent chop clean is shooting green right in a good place for a branch on that left side. I think the next leader chop is somewhere about 2/3rds shorter on the current long segment.

 

[hemmy]

Here’s a branch bending (kinking?) technique that I borrowed from @bonhe on pomegranates.

It has worked well for those green shoots that are growing too quick to wire. They seem to heal fine and keep growing. Although I did have one that suffered from the kinking process. I’ll either wire and cut back this Fall.

 

[hemmy]

we’re re-wounded and covered. It’s not pictured but the recent chop clean is shooting green right in a good place for a branch on that left side.

public school english. Also don’t know my left from my right.

Here is close-up of interesting shoot growth from wound site on the RIGHT-side of the previous pic.

 

[nuttiest]

Here’s a branch bending (kinking?) technique that I borrowed from @bonhe on pomegranates.

Oh, sorry I started a thread on this just a couple of days after you posted this.
Things are still only bending, not snapping. Any new buds there?

 

[hemmy]

Oh, sorry I started a thread on this just a couple of days after you posted this.
Things are still only bending, not snapping. Any new buds there?

Nope, no new buds from the kinking. These were green shoots that I kinked and as such, they do not crack or split. I also didn’t prune or remove leaves, so there wasn’t a strong enough stimulus to get back budding. On some trees (Ficus microcarpa) when I wire a vigorous shoot down with the tip below the stem origination it will signal backbudding.

I kinked these because they were more vertical and vigorous. But I didn’t want to prune, because I still wanted the thickening. once they lignify earlier in the season or after leaf drop they would get pruned back for direction and the kink will likely be removed.

 

[19Mateo83]

Here’s some inspiration for y’all. This one is on a buddy’s farm and dates back to the turn of the century, late 1800’s early 1900’s. The branch over the golf cart had to be cut back to what you see because the tree has been slowly tipping over. It had dropped 6-8 inches this year. Since the excess weight has been removed it has stabilized.

 

[Gabler]

A long-term project I'm working on:

 

[hemmy]

it slowed considerably in the small pot. It doesn’t have the ramification needed, but I think the leaves will go smaller.

The growth slowed to a stop on this one over Winter/Spring, since it didn’t wake back up. I must have let it dry out. I would have thought the roots were more drought tolerant. The green shoots on larger potted ones can go limp in the growing season and then revive with watering.

On the plus side, this container is now available for Spring 2025 planting!

 

[hemmy]

Here is another from the original seedlings that is being trained over a large rock

First prune May 20th. Still letting some run for thickening. Current preferred front below, for trunk movement and rock interest. The slickenside (fault smear) is visible on the lower left portion (lighter color rock). Other angles attached for reference and opinion. I’m still not sure if the “daughter” truck is a keeper. It needs to run and thicken. I also dislike the wound at the base on the current front.

 

[hemmy]

For back budding, I remove the growing tip and defoliate the length. While leaving a leaf at the end of the branch. For weaker, lower branches, I’m leaving more leaves.

On the lateral spur branch (stub midway down in the pic with leftover petioles), there can be 3-4 leaves with a bud that is not active. I removed all of those leaves. They seem to be moderately apical dominant, with some lower branches susceptible to weakening.

This is the daughter trunk and the lateral spurs all resprouted.

 

[hemmy]

June 16th, ~3 weeks later. New growth at ~2 weeks.

This is different branch from above. Red circles on defoliated lateral spurs that didn’t sprout.
The 2nd pic is more apical and it strongly shot new growth.

 

[hemmy]

June 16th.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I'm glad to have discovered this thread! About 2 weeks ago I spied a sapling volunteer at the end of an alleyway on a very busy street. Upon further inspection, there is a second one a few feet away from the first. I want to speak with the owner of the house, but it's technically on public property, where it will likely be mowed over. This is not a good time to transplant, but I worry that if I don't dig them soon, they won't be there in the fall. They're both around 2.5' tall.
I will post photos after I speak with the homeowner.