Do be aware that Osage Orange has thorns. BIG ones on the mature trees. My Grampa had “hedge” as a harvested crop, for fence posts and windbreak shelter alongside the field edges. He would go in during winter to cut posts, allowing oncoming sprouts to develop with straight growth, not crowding each other. Trimmed off bad branching to keep future posts more solid. Those hedge posts never seemed to rot, got replaced only when broken! Horses didn’t chew them either. But they do have thorns before being cleaned off for use. He figured his gate post by the house was at least 100 years old, still solid in the ground. It was in place before he bought the farm where he lived a long life.
Local name is “hedge” and was heavily planted to protect against erosion, heavy wind removing the topsoil. Many of the field hedges have since been removed because they were in the way as farmers went to bigger and bigger equipment that could not turn in the smaller fields.
Osage Orange is deep rooted, tenacious to remove. Wood of roots is bright orange, HARD wood. Small pieces make good tool handles if you get them shaped before the wood dries down to ultra-hard. Makes good, slow burning firewood. Endlessclimb below, says wood burns really hot, so only use one piece at a time in the fireplace!
