Time Frame

• The osage-orange tree begins producing fruit by age 10. Only the female bears and it is quite difficult to determine male from female before the tree is in bloom. Both genders produce their flowers in leaf axils. Male flowers are racemes, usually clustered three to an axil while the female flowers are in balls and are either found individually or in clusters of two or three at the axil. Female osage-orange trees bloom in early summer and mature fruit falls from the tree in late summer to fall.
  
  

Planting

• Osage-orange trees thrive in a wide variety of soil types and textures. There is no need to add amendments to the soil when planting. If you are growing the osage-orange from seed, soak the seeds for two days prior to planting. Plant them immediately after soaking in the fall. In spring, remove them from the soak and refrigerate for 30 days before planting. Planted 3/8 of an inch deep, the seed germinates within three to four weeks. Plant nursery-grown seedlings in a hole that is the same depth at which the tree has been growing and twice the diameter. Whether planted from seed or seedling, keep the soil moist while the seeds germinate or the seedling becomes established.
  
  

Care

• When growing as a hedge, plant the osage-orange no more than 8 inches apart. osage-orange seedlings can't compete for soil nutrients and moisture with other vegetation, so remove all weeds from within a 5-foot radius of where they are growing. Although osage-orange trees, in maturity, are drought-tolerant, provide them with a deep watering at least every 10 days during periods of drought.
  
  

Considerations

• Osage-oranges are heavy so site the tree away from sidewalks and other areas where the fruit may drop on someone. Consider, as well, the tree's eventual size: 50-feet tall and 30-feet wide. osage-orange trees are considered invasive by the United States Department of Agriculture as they may escape cultivation and overwhelm native vegetation. It advises that you contact the county cooperative extension office to determine the tree's status in your area.