Trees, Shrubs and Conifers: Is Osage Orange a good shade tree?, 1 by StarhillForest

StarhillForest wrote:
Patrick, for a traditional hedge row, they typically are planted a foot apart or less, sometimes in a double-staggered row. They are allowed to grow for a couple of years, then cut back near the base in winter so they will send out masses of thorny sucker shoots. Those shoots then are allowed to get perhaps 10 feet tall and are cut about half-way through at knee- or waist- height, and each one is carefully bent over at the cut to lay horizontally upon its neighbor (pleaching). The partial cut heals, and what you have is a hedge of woven horizontal limbs that send out shoots each year that can be trimmed to the desired height and width of hedge. But it's backbreaking work best left to a prison work-release crew or a teenager you really hate.

For a shelter belt, merely plant the trees at any specing desired and let them do their thing. The females will bear fruits, and the seeds will sprout, but they cannot travel far except downhill so the reproduction will always be easily controlled. The theory about this tree, which once grew throughout eastern North America, is that it was spread (vectored) by giant sloths and mastodonts that became extinct during the last Ice Age. Thus, it could not reclaim its former pre-glacial territory like other trees, until humans started planting it.

By the way, if you use thornless selections for a hedge, it obviously will be much easier to manage but much less effective as a barrier.

Just for those who might be curious, here is the ortet (original tree) of 'Cannonball'.

Guy S.