display - Osage orange

We're having a few folks over for dinner and as usual I try to have a tree or two inside. Most people around here are a bit bewildered by this pastime, but the folks here tonight show at least some interest.

The main tree is my Osage orange (Maclura pomifera).

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A quince cascade.

The Orange is a lovely tree Jim, can`t help thinking the pot is a bit heavy though.

Ian.

Thanks. It didn't do at all well in a smaller pot.

Jim, has your orange ever flowered and fruited for you?
Todd

Does anybody know the correct pronunciation of "Osage"? It's one of those words I've only ever seen written and never heard spoken.

Todd Ellis wrote:Jim, has your orange ever flowered and fruited for you?
Todd

its not a fruit that people eat, we use to throw them at each other when we were kids. the american indians used the the wood to make bow and arrows. has a funny smell too. the wood is orange in color, not much good for anything tho... their everywhere here in Ohio.

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The osage timber is actualy still considerd to be one of the best meterials for bow making, and i think that the belife is that the fruit was once been eaten by north american giant sloths ,and by that spreading its seeds.

William Feldman wrote:Does anybody know the correct pronunciation of "Osage"? It's one of those words I've only ever seen written and never heard spoken.

I have always heard it pronounced long "O", with emphasis on the first syllable, O' - sage. (sage; as in the herb).

No it has never flowered or fruited. It was grown from seed (a seedling dug up from under one of several I'd planted along my drive in Tallahassee in th 70s).

They get quite large. Sculptors love the wood, though it is so hard it dulls their chisels. A chain saw has difficulty cutting one with a one-foot trunk. It barely floats because of its density. NASTY thorns.

They are not even vaguely related to the Citrus "orange."

This one has been in a pot since 1999.

The leaves are the most vibrant green of any leaf I've sen on any tree anywhere. They look dyed.

I like the tree, Jim, just as I love that idea of setting up a temporary display for a specific purpose. Wish I had the space to do something similar. Hmm. I feel that woman thing - a totally unnecessary furniture rearrange - coming on.

Hope your dinner guests appreciated it too.

Hi Jim, I don`t think it needs a smaller pot, just something less visually heavy. maybe with a nice subtle glaze, rather than unglazed.

Ian.

Ian Warhurst wrote:Hi Jim, I don`t think it needs a smaller pot, just something less visually heavy. maybe with a nice subtle glaze, rather than unglazed.

Ian.

OK. That's something to think about. This pot was a hurried acquisition when this tree was very late (6-weeks) leafing out this spring. I had it in a not-as-wide Tokonome orange (to match the bark) and brown pot, but it was unhappy there.

The ramification on this tree is beautiful!!! It looks very natural; a true bonsai! Your talent is very evident in this tree! Salut, Todd

Flowering would be ok, but I wouldn't want it to set fruit, at least not allow the fruit to get to full size, it might pull a branch off of a bonsai. Then again, it might allow for nature weighing down of the branches.

The Midwest is full of them. The farmers used them in between farm fields as wind and erosion breaks. I've considered havesting some from local farms for making walking stikes, canes and staves for making bows.

Never considered harvesting some for bonsai.

My wife will not be happy!

Just so you know, when I come home with some Osage yamadori, I placing the blame squarely on Jim's shoulders! Cuz, obviously, I'm not responsible for my own actions!

Jay