Osage Questions

[TheBigRedArcher]

1. Does osage grow in texas?

2. If I wish to plant an osage tree from a "seed pod" how do I go about it. Do I cut the pod up or do I just plant the whole thing?

[Tater John]

" 1. Does osage grow in texas?"

Does a cat have a climbin' gear?

Rusty

[Clay Hayes]

That's a good one Tater!  

I will say that Texas is a very diverse state, and it doesn't grow in all parts.

To plant some, I'd smash up the fruits and just put a few seeds in some holes around your place.  You could also plant some in starter pots to get them going.  That might work the best.

ch

[WINDTALKER]

From what I read on a gardening site you can plant them whole and fight to transplant seedlings or you can soak in a bucket of water for a few days till the pods get soggy and seperate.I chose to replicate the freeze/thaw cycle with the freezer. It was quicker to get the seeds out and into individual containers. Art

[Dave Bulla]

I've also heard of "pioneer" types back in the day soaking them into mush and making a sort of slurry of pulp and seed.  Then you plow or till a furrow and go along and pour the mush along the furrow and in a while you have a whole "hedge" row growing.

[Pat B]

I know folks that have done it like Dave explained, with a slurry!!!  Instead of going for the hedge row you can allow them to germinate and grow for a year then next winter when they go dormanent, dig each one and transplant them in other locations or in pots to get a good size plant before transplanting them again in their permanent location.    Pat

[Rufus]

Just curious, how long ya gotta wait to make a bow?

[ishiwannabe]

I grew about a hundred seedlings this spring by planting the mush  from one hegdge apple that was left after the thaw. Just mash em up, add some water and pour it into the holes-pots-rows you want them to grow in.

[Pat B]

Many types of seeds, osage included, need to be scarified and to stratify. Stratifying is breaking the seed dormancy that many types of seeds have. Usually a cool period(90 days at or below 40deg[F])and then the warming of spring.  Scarifying is the breaking of the seed coat(hard shell). This can be done mechanically(hammer, rasp, etc) or chemically(sulfuric acid bath,Natural soil acids and moisture and in some cases passing through the gut of an animal). By making a slurry of horse apples and water, pouring them into a trough and letting the cold of winter and the warming of spring break it dormancy you let nature do the work for you.  Pat

[TheBigRedArcher]

Ok, I just brought back some osage oranges from Pennsylvania after a unsuccessful hunting trip. I have two of the fruits soaking in a bucket of water. Once they are mushy and I separate the seeds from the rest of the muck water would be the best next step to take if I wish to plant them in small pots to get them going?

TBRA

[wingnut]

don't seperate them from the mush, it will feed the seed.  Just segment the orange and plant the seeds.  If more then one comes up in a pot, cull or transplant.

Mike

[Pat B]

You can put the seeds in small pots and put them in a cool damp spot until spring when they should germinate. If you don't have long periods(90days) of cold weather(below 40deg(F)) the best way to go is put some moist(not wet) sand in a ziploc bag with the seeds and place them in your frig until March or so then plant a couple of seeds in each pot and keep watered(not wet) until they germinate.     Pat

[TheBigRedArcher]

So Pat, I am to separate the seeds and put them in moist sand until march the plant them in small pots and keep them watered until the sprout?

Mike, I have enough of the fruits to also try your way. Do I segment the orange the soak it or do I soak it then segment it?

[Toklat1]

I have 2 acres with 17 Orange Osage trees on it. Two or three I would like to get rid of. Anybody want em, come and cut them down and there yours!!!!  These few throw apples and I am sick of them!

[Pat B]

The damp sand and baggie method is one method. The trench and slurry is another. Either way will work. Each depends on the amount or room and time you have to work with.
  I am a native plant enthusiast(read nut) and have used the sand/baggie method for many types of native plant seed; woody plants and perennials. I have also collected persimmon seed from coyote scat because the coyote's stomach acid has scarified (broken the seed coat)so only the cooling period to break the dormancy was required.
 By using the slurry/trench method the natural soil acids will work on the seed coat and the cool(cold) soil will break the dormancy by spring when the warmth and moisture will get germination going.
  If you put them in pots after germination keep them moist but not wet, use well drained soil in the pot and upgrade them into bigger pots as they grow the first year.  After a year in pots you can transplant them directly into the ground where you want them to grow. If you use the trench method, leave them in the trench, thin the seedlings so each is not being crowed and nurture them for at least a year before transplanting them to their final location. The seedlings you thin from the trench can be transplanted into pots for nurturing if you don't damage the sensitive roots while digging them. This method is less  work in the long run. Usually only periodic watering is necessary because of natural soil moisture. In dry areas, weekly watering is necessary.   Pat

[longstick]

Originally posted by Toklat1:
I have 2 acres with 17 Orange Osage trees on it. Two or three I would like to get rid of. Anybody want em, come and cut them down and there yours!!!!  These few throw apples and I am sick of them!

I know of someone around Austin who may want em