Future of Osage Orange

[planner steve]

Today I came home and saw a piece of wood in the back of the Sportrac. The wife had a client give her a 8 ftiece of Osage orange after hearing her husband was a BTU nut. Seems he acquired it years ago to make a bow but lost interest. Obviously this is not a significant factor in my heating strategy. But it got me thinking about the future supply of this king of firewood. Is there any effort to replace the hedges cut down?

 

[LocustPocust]

I think about that stuff sometimes but I think Nature does a great job at healing itself and replacing trees.

My neck of the woods was at one time clear cut but has since become re forested and full of native species. Virgin forest in the Northeast is an extremely rare find.

 

[spirilis]

I am planting a bunch in my dad's backyard... found a source of hedgeapples by the side of the road on the way to work.

Going to experiment with pruning and coppicing them in the coming years.

 

[Osage]

I am planting a bunch in my dad's backyard... found a source of hedgeapples by the side of the road on the way to work.

Going to experiment with pruning and coppicing them in the coming years.

Indeed it will be in the coming years------grandkids will be doing it.

 

[MaintenanceMan]

There's actually a ton of them around here. No danger of them becoming endangered from what I can tell. Unfortunately for the, wood burner, they seem to be a hearty tree. They're all healthy and none of them look like they need taken down. I've never seen a sick or dead one. But if you need some hedge apples to keep the spiders away I can show you and endless supply.

 

[sloeffle]

They are rough on chainsaw chains. I had one fall down a number of years ago in my woods. I tried to cut it up and had sparks shooting off my chain. I talked to a couple folks and they told me you can only cut the wood when it is green. It is still back there in my woods rotting away. I doubt it will rot away in my lifetime.

It was also used for fence posts in my area years ago. My property still had some hedge fence posts standing.

But if you need some hedge apples to keep the spiders away I can show you and endless supply.

Same here

 

[spirilis]

Indeed it will be in the coming years------grandkids will be doing it.

Now I am a bit curious, how fast do they grow? I've read 4-6 feet per year but I guess that's after a few years of the root system getting established... I was thinking it'd be a rich kindling source in 5 years.

 

[Jags]

Burns like coal, but can be tough to process. I have found that full chisel chains work best for me. The stuff grows in fence lines like weeds around here. I also know of one spot that has some old growth Osage. Largest trees of that species I have ever seen. A couple of them must be in the 30" DBH range. That is one big Osage.

 

[Jags]

I was thinking it'd be a rich kindling source in 5 years.

Not sure I would be using the stuff for kindling. Its a hard starting wood.

 

[Corey]

... Unfortunately for the, wood burner, they seem to be a hearty tree. They're all healthy and none of them look like they need taken down. I've never seen a sick or dead one....

Come out here, I can show you a pile of them! They seem to grow, get old, and die just like any other tree. Some get struck by lightning and die, some are overcome by vines and die (unfortunately, it's often poison ivy!), many have the insides rotted and eaten up by carpenter ants. If they are in a true hedge row, they tend to be scraggly, bushy type trees, "pruned" by all sorts of wind storms, lightning, rough weather, etc. Cut one down and 100 saplings race to fill the newly created space.

The conservation agent I spoke with last viewed them as a nuisance tree and was trying to get them clear cut to help restore the natural prairie. I was happy to help out, though I worked on one 'tree' - which was 5 trunks each 18+ inches in diameter - for 2+ years of burning.

 

[ElmBurner]

I think most firewood guys look for "easy to process" over BTUs. I suppose that changes if you own a splitter, but for me, I am looking for tall straight trees with few branches. Cherry, oak, hickory or basswood that grows in the timber. Or dead elms that never got very big and don't need splitting.

Seeing a field tree that is all branches and wind damage makes me steer clear. Especially when they have thorns on them and are hard cutting/splitting.

Hedge is great to burn if you have to get rid of it anyway, but I am not sure I would go looking for it or try to make a "firewood plantation" out of it. It's rough going....kinda the same way as with honey locust. Burns great, but those thorns....

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

It is still back there in my woods rotting away.

Nah, it's back there in the woods laughing at you!

 

[Paulywalnut]

I like Osage also but not by itself. It can be down right scary and dangerous when you open your stove door. Sparks are flying out into the room. Mixing it does cut down on that. I rather cultivate Ash and hard maple.

 

[Applesister]

I dont have Osage.

 

[Wood Duck]

I think the heyday of Osage Orange was more than 100 years ago when it was used as living fences. When barbed wire became common it probably meant a lot less Osage Orange was planted, so it is possible that many Osage Orange hedges are not going to be replaced. You have to remember that 1000 years ago Osage Orange grew only in a small natural range in the southern plains, so by historical standards it is very common these days. It is much more abundant in the southern plans than it is in the northeast. I haven't seen much of it anywhere along the east coast.

 

[beatlefan]

I like Osage also but not by itself. It can be down right scary and dangerous when you open your stove door. Sparks are flying out into the room. Mixing it does cut down on that. I rather cultivate Ash and hard maple.

Yep, it's like fireworks when you open the door. I only put it in the stove when I go to bed.

 

[planner steve]

I think most firewood guys look for "easy to process" over BTUs. I suppose that changes if you own a splitter, but for me, I am looking for tall straight trees with few branches. Cherry, oak, hickory or basswood that grows in the timber. Or dead elms that never got very big and don't need splitting.

Seeing a field tree that is all branches and wind damage makes me steer clear. Especially when they have thorns on them and are hard cutting/splitting.

Hedge is great to burn if you have to get rid of it anyway, but I am not sure I would go looking for it or try to make a "firewood plantation" out of it. It's rough going....kinda the same way as with honey locust. Burns great, but those thorns....

I'm a rookie but am starting to see what you mean. Here the high BTU wood that you can scounge is Black Locust and occasionally holly, dogwood, red oak, and beech. I can't say I've split beech yet, but all the others require some effort. Last week I got some Oregon Ash. Little lower BTU content, but it practically split itself. I won't pass any of that up in the future.

 

[planner steve]

Yep, it's like fireworks when you open the door. I only put it in the stove when I go to bed.

I noticed that when I split off a few pieces and put on the backyard fire pit. There were a lot of sparks.

 

[planner steve]

I think the heyday of Osage Orange was more than 100 years ago when it was used as living fences. When barbed wire became common it probably meant a lot less Osage Orange was planted, so it is possible that many Osage Orange hedges are not going to be replaced. You have to remember that 1000 years ago Osage Orange grew only in a small natural range in the southern plains, so by historical standards it is very common these days. It is much more abundant in the southern plans than it is in the northeast. I haven't seen much of it anywhere along the east coast.

Yes, it has an interesting history. Seems native Americans spread the tree beyond it's natural range due to properties for bow making. Largest one in the US is not in the native range, but in Virginia according to this http://www.redhill.org/tree.htm

 

[planner steve]

I am planting a bunch in my dad's backyard... found a source of hedgeapples by the side of the road on the way to work.

Going to experiment with pruning and coppicing them in the coming years.

I wish you well with the experiment. If I had more room, I'd try it. But I'm 59 so not sure if I'd see much wood in my lifetime. But I like the idea.

 

[planner steve]

They are rough on chainsaw chains. I had one fall down a number of years ago in my woods. I tried to cut it up and had sparks shooting off my chain. I talked to a couple folks and they told me you can only cut the wood when it is green. It is still back there in my woods rotting away. I doubt it will rot away in my lifetime.

It was also used for fence posts in my area years ago. My property still had some hedge fence posts standing.


Same here

I noticed sparks when cutting some of the Holly I got that was semi-seasoned. I checked because I thought there was some wire or nails in the tree but couldn't see anything. Not sure how wood can cause sparks. I'm sure this piece I got is several years old so may be a challenge to cut.

 

[LocustPocust]

I dont have Osage.

Me either, I've never seen any around here.

 

[Soundchasm]

Was driving down a secondary street that's always flooded with monkey brains, but wasn't seeing them. Then I bet I counted six+ freshly cut Osage stumps. I missed that truck by a day or two. There's never a dull moment with that stuff, and I plan opening-a-stove-door like a Navy Seal Mission. No room for error and you might want a plan B... ;-)

 

[CountryBoy19]

I think most firewood guys look for "easy to process" over BTUs. I suppose that changes if you own a splitter, but for me, I am looking for tall straight trees with few branches. Cherry, oak, hickory or basswood that grows in the timber. Or dead elms that never got very big and don't need splitting.

Seeing a field tree that is all branches and wind damage makes me steer clear. Especially when they have thorns on them and are hard cutting/splitting.

Hedge is great to burn if you have to get rid of it anyway, but I am not sure I would go looking for it or try to make a "firewood plantation" out of it. It's rough going....kinda the same way as with honey locust. Burns great, but those thorns....

I can say that is certainly isn't the easiest to process, but it has it's place. I like a diverse firewood stack because different woods have different burn characteristics. I have intentionally sought out Osage before, got ~4 cords of it in my stacks and haven't touched one since then. I use the Osage sparingly because it's so much work to process compared to dead standing ash and other trees. But my stacks wouldn't go without it. I heat my whole house with nothing more than a ZC fireplace and on the coldest nights (below zero) I HAVE to run Osage to keep the stove running hot for a longer period of time just to keep the house warm.

 

[Donk4kyv]

Seems native Americans spread the tree beyond its natural range due to properties for bow making. Largest one in the US is not in the native range, but in Virginia according to this http://www.redhill.org/tree.htm

Some people call it "bodark", a corruption of French bois d'arc, meaning "wood for making bows". I find it pretty similar to black locust, in appearance, density and of course, thorns. I have heard stories of osage orange fence posts that were set in the ground in the 1700s still in use.

The highway department cut a large osage orange tree at the edge of our property next to the right-of-way a few years ago, just before I started heating with wood, and I got enough from it to last several winters, although I always mixed it in with other wood to make it last, since when that supply is gone I don't think there is any more on my property.

This summer I decided to order a new grate for my Harman Oakwood. I told the guy at the store that my old one warped the second season I used the stove, and has been getting worse every winter since, so I thought it was about time to replace it. The first thing he asked me was if I had burnt any hedge. He said it has loads of BTUs, but burns too hot for modern-day EPA stoves, and sometimes even causes parts in the stove to melt. He says the best way to burn hedge is to "stack it in a pile out in the middle of the field".

I'm not sure it's as bad as he says, but maybe the safest way to burn it would be to mix it with other wood, which is what I have always done, and not load the stove up with nothing but hedge, unless that is the only wood you have available.

I never had any problem with it ruining or wearing out my saw chains, any more than cutting red oak and black locust, although the tree I cut up had been down only a couple of years and probably was not fully dry.

I never would burn it in a fireplace, because of the sparks it spits out. My stove has a viewing window on the door, and osage orange really puts on a light show.