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Hedgeapple.com Guestbook

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The Wells family moved from Tucson, AZ in 1998 to enroll our two special needs children in USD497 and to obtain services we couldn't get for them in Tucson and to attend Kansas University. On one of our many outings in the county, I kept seeing these unusual fruit from the road and thought they were oranges or apples. My wife was raised in Southwestern Kansas and knew of the notorious history of the Hedge apple. She assured me that the mysterious fruit I kept referring to was NOT a fruit and not for human consumption. One day we were returning from an excersion to Baldwin City and she stopped the car and pointed out what she thought was a wild orange tree. She asked me to go get some of them from the tree that was in a pasture about 1/4 of a mile from where we were parked. I love adventure and willingly trudged the distance along the tree line only to be disappointed by picking up the knobby, sticky, smelly ball of Osage Orange. My wife was laughing when I returned to the car with three or four of the balls of noxious smelling globes and said, "Well, what do you think of those Kansas oranges? My first thought was, "You're kidding, right." My second thought was what kind of natural fuel or product could be manufactured from these things. There must be some sort of use for them. Then she read your Website and we have placed about 8 of the buggers under our mobile home to repel the ants and cockroaches that seem to use the structure as a vacation destination when a lot is vacated. Will know this coming spring of the results. Many thanks from a desperate home owner who has tried every kind of insect control method in the stores.

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My husband found a hedge apple yesterday while walking our Shiba Inu dog in an old turf farm that is being turned into a small town. It brought memories of my childhood - visiting my grandparent's farm in Central Indiana. What fun we had "playing" softball with them. I didn't remember the correct name off right away and took the hedge apple to my senior's bible class today. Only two others remembered that it was a hedge apple and osage orange. All three of us were from the Midwest! This website has brought back warm memories. Thank You! Marina

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The correct spelling for the french name of Osage Orange is Bois d'Arc. It is pronounced bodark and means "wood of the bow".

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We just came back from a week out atthe ranch. We took along two bags of "horseapples" to put in every corner of every room. We have had a problem with scorpions and Black Widow spiders and are hoping this will resolve the problem as we don't like to spray chemicals inside or out. We see the Osage Orange trees all over here in Texas.

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I found this fruit while on a search and rescue and had to find out what it was because I had never seen it before. Illinois was not mentioned as one of the ares it grows in, but this particular "hedge apple", or Osage Orangr Tree fruit, was found in a small town called Pontoon Beach,Illinois. I found it to be in a location similar to some of the descriptions I found, they were being used as a hedgeline around a creek bed. Enjoyed thr site.

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Would the hedgeapple by chance be the same as a Mock Orange?

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As president of our local garden club I am looking for a way to use hedgeapples as a natural decoration to incorporate into Christmas Wreaths. With the size and weight I might only be able to use 3-5 on each wreath. Can you suggest how to preserve them any longer than normal? I am going to try the cut hedgeapples for insecticides for bugs. I know an older ex-boss always used them in his basement to control mice but I never knew they also worked on spiders and other critters. I love the smell. I think it is an earthy clean smell and I usually always pick up a few to place in a basket in my "Country Kitchen". Can you preserve them in a way to have them dried? Please advise. Thank you so much for your website. It was great.

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My husband is Irish and LOVES anything Green . So when he told me he was picking Hedgeapples for a friends wife for decorations I really thought he'd gone off his Rocker. I had confirmation on that when he cam home with his prized green brains and bloody gouges up to his elbows. I couldn't believe he put so much effort and sacrifice into a favor for a friends wife (whom by the way he had never met)So--Now I found out that they are being sold through ads in the newspaper for $.75 a peice.. The price isn't high enough to justify the medical expence. So, I went out with him in search of the elusive fruit(?) I work smarter not harder I took an APPLE PICKER along and lo and behold I recieve only one small scratch .He praise me on my ability to harvest the prize said I was a natural!!! YA RIGHT!!! He was trying to recruit a patsy to do the dirty deed ,typical Irish tactics!!!! Now we have a pick-up truck full , don't ask me why?? I'm only his wee wife.

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the osage orange has been a big discussion at work with no answers, until i happend upon one at a flea market! thats how I found your web! thanx

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I've had a fascination with Osage oranges for a while, and so wrote this story for the Blue Rapids/Waterville Telegraph newspaper, where I write a weekly column.I love your Web site and thought you might like this. The article is copyrighted 2002 but you have my permission to use it on your Web site if you want to. tom

Spreading the lowly hedge apple across the celestial sky Nov. 16, 2002

One of the most incongruous sights of the autumnal Kansas countryside is that of an Osage orange stripped of leaves, its bare limbs gnarled and twisted, a litter of lime-green fruit crowded at its base like monocolored Christmas presents. Of all living things, it stands out as unique, as a one-of-a-kind specimen, adding an unreal tint to a landscape rapidly being shorn of color. And it is unique, a monotype, the sole member of its genus. There is nothing else like it in all the world.
I first heard of Maclura pomifera in 1991, with the publication of Prairy Erth, by William Least Heat-Moon. Possibly the finest book ever written on Kansas, its 622 pages take place exclusively in Chase County, and cover every facet of its history. The author devotes an entire chapter on the importance of the tree in the Midwestern frontier. Not only is Maclura an amazing tree, but its history is equally fascinating.
Meriwether Lewis penned the first description of the wood in 1804 and sent cuttings back to Thomas Jefferson. In 1847, Professor Jonathan Turner of Jacksonville, Illinois, proposed using the wood as hedges. Turner began advocating and selling Maclura, which was then known as the finest wood on the planet for making bows. By the early 1870s the trees began delineating the Kansas landscape. It was the most sought-after plant in the history of the United States, and then barbed wire came along and eclipsed Maclura's importance. Now, it seems nobody likes having it around. Poor Maclura pomifera, once so popular, now so reviled.
After reading Prairie Erth, I decided that someday I had to have an Osage orange growing in my yard. As nurseries in Colorado didn't stock them, the idea languished until it all but faded away.
And then we decided we had to escape the burgeoning madhouse and flee to Blue Rapids, and find a measure of peace. We quit our jobs, put our house on the market, packed everything we owned into a Ryder truck and set out on our new adventure.
We were freer than we had ever been or conceived of being. It was an interlude suffused with wonder and hope and magic. Everything that was good and perfect graced our lives. We had new friends and neighbors and, to ex-suburbanites, unimaginable quiet. Deer grazed in our yard, and rabbits, and raccoons and skunks and a solitary woodchuck. The birds that began to visit the feeders were species that had never been seen in our old haunts.
Each day revealed some new wonder. Late summer came and leaves began falling and the skies filled with long V's of geese heading south. Recognition dawned on me that the trees across the street were, in fact, Osage oranges. They grew enormous pebbled balls that dragged down limbs under their weight. Their color was amazing, a lime that few other things in the world possess. Maclura pomifera, at last.
One afternoon, my wife and I were walking the edges of our property and enjoying the sense of freedom we had come to know. We found a battered aluminum bat under the grass. I darted across the road and retrieved several softball sized fruits. They were much heavier than I thought they would be, and when the bat made a solid connection the shock could be felt clear through my body.
Last night I stepped outside to watch the crescent moon hanging low in the south. A few stars were visible but the air was hazy. It was warm, with a slight breeze that rustled what leaves were left. After the cold, damp weather it felt like spring again. I sucked in a deep breath and held it for a second.
With only the yard light for navigation, I walked across the road to where Maclura grows thickest. Mindful of the sharp drop-off from the road's shoulder and of the thorny limbs, I rooted around in the inky blackness until my fingers felt the wrinkled surface of an orange. It was smaller than most, hardball-sized, heavy. It was perfect.
I strode into the center of the road considered my choices. I could toss it into my fallow field and hope that someday a tree would sprout, or I could take it home and set it inside the doorway and use it to repel cockroaches. But the night felt special, filled with enchantment, and a giddy carelessness swept over me. I wanted this fruit to matter. I wanted it to propagate and grow a million more like it.
I wound up and hurled the orange as hard as I could, aiming at the arc of the moon as it hung above the trees. It was a good throw, hard enough to make my shoulder feel dislocated. For a moment the fruit spun through the night air like a shooting star, gaining altitude, and then it passed into shadows. I listened for it to hit the ground, a dull thud in the darkness, but it never came.
Like I said, it was a good throw. It might have dropped into deep grass, or fallen among damp leaves. It might even have hit the moon for all I know. It was one of those nights where it felt like anything could happen if you only wished hard enough.
The stars wheeled overhead, the moon dropped toward the west. I like to think that on that barren, comet-pocked surface an Osage orange lies buried a few inches below the flour-soft soil, and that eventually it will sprout and grow into a tall, gnarly tree and spread across the face of the moon. The scientist in me knows it could never be, that a person cannot throw an object that far, that a tree could never grow in an airless environment. The child in me, though, believes, and that makes all the difference.

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We just returned from my wife's sister's memorial service in Virginia. While there a three year old grand nephew went for a walk and returned with one five inch Osage Orange. He proudly handed it to me and said "take this back to Michigan and plant it." I will follow your instructions and place it into a pan of one inch water and let it freeze this winter. I hope a Osage Orange can survive zone four winters. If so. my wife will have a sweet memorial tree.

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I have found that the hedgeapples keep mice away and kill spiders and lots of flies. I would like to know if we can grow the trees here in Colorado?

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Wow I can't beleave you can sell and buy {Horse Apples}.They are all over the place here.I wish I could find some kind of crafts to use them.Every year hundreds just sit there and go bad.

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I am overwhelmed by the interest and lore concerning this ugly green fruit that my elderly parents requested for their basement...fortunately I have spotted a fruit bearing tree nearby and picked a bunch...for free! Are there any recipes out there for hedgeapple cobbler!

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I had been picking these up from my front yard and tossing them into the cornfield across the fence. A few days later, I noticed the grocery store here was selling them. So now, I am selling mine to the grocery store. I'm not getting quite as much as Mr. Hedgeapple, but I'm just happy they're not going to waste anymore. Let me know Mr. Hedgeapple if you need anymore. Thanks for the interesting website!

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I was driving through Kentucky and kept seeing these "big honkin' fruit" trees beside the interstate. We finally pulled over and made a mad dash scross 4 lanes to find out what they were.
Can't wait to try to plant some. =)

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DEER DO EAT HEDGEAPPLES BUT NOT UNTIL NOVEMBER

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I pick my own hedge apples every October 1st or 2nd week alongside the roads out in the country. I place them around my home and never have a problem with insects or fleas. As a cat owner, I do beleive that my cat appreciates my efforts. I would like someone to contact me regarding the decorative usage of them. I understand that they can be dried into a nice flower design or as ornaments.

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We are stationed in Germany and recently moved into an old farmhouse that had been vacant for awhile. Needless to say there are a lot of spiders and I am extremely arachniphobic. There is a lot to be said for word of mouth as a teacher in this area told me about your website. I just ordered 12 to fill most of the rooms in our house. I hope there is no problem sending them to an APO AE address and I sure hope they work!!! Thanks, look forward to receiving them and trying them out!

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I have often seen hedge apples painted either gold or silver at home shows, usually around the Christmas holidays. Does anyone know how to prep the hedge apples for painting, and how are they preserved?

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I think these are great. They really work,I haven't had a spider in my house since I purchased them last year.I work in a grocery store and I reccomend them to everyone that stops to ask what they are.

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What a Beautiful, informative site!!! We have lived in N.C. all our lives, and both of us stay outside and walk in the woods as often as we can. We work in Charlotte, and found an Osage Orange tree at the edge of a beautiful, very old cemetery. For the life of us, we could'nt figure out what in the world these wierd things were. Have a friend that works for the State, and said she had a meeting in Raleigh, N.C. and offered to take one of the fruits with her to try and find out what it was. Sure enough she did! Osage Orange! We are so honored to have one of these trees here! Especially now that we know what it is! Our Yellow Lab insisted it was an ovesized tennis ball, until his teeth and nose got all sticky... Thanks for all the info! Going to pick up a box load to bring home before the Squirrels eat them all! Never seen anything like them. Guess we are never too old to learn! Thank You! Jack & Libby

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I have a large hedge apple tree that produces hundreds of useless balls each year. I have found no use for them at all. I have tried several experiments with them. The best use I can find is to use them as an alarm clock.When the wind blows hard about 2 A.M. and 3 or 4 of them fall on my roof, I wake instantly. I tried using them for cricket and spider control, but had little success. To me they are a pain in the back. Each fall I try to think of a new use for them, and each fall I end up taking then to the yard waste facility.

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Nice Site. Lots of good information. I never knew what these things where or what to do with them. Thanks for the heads up info. Here in Southern Ontario,Hedge Apples(Horse Apples) seem to do just fine.

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Comments: FINALLY!!!!!!! i've been trying to figure out what a monkey ball tree is for a few years now and all anyone could tell me was it's a monkey ball. i was fascinated by them and had to know what they were...thanks for the info.

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: I first bought these for spiders, I also do not see any other inects in the house either. I now have almost everyone I work with using them too. and more want them but they can not get them, stores are out. 100 percent on spiders,great thing.

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I RECEIVED MY HEDGEAPPLES OVER A MONTH AGO..I HAVE NOT SEEN A PESKY ANT OR ROACH SINCE ABOUT 3 DAYS AFTER PLACING ONE IN EACH ROOM....I ALSO HAVE MY SON CONVINCED...HE HAS GOTTEN RID OF TONS OF ANTS IN HIS HOME...AN MY FRIEND IN CHOIR WAS TELLING ME THAT BUGS ON HER DAIRY ARE GETTING IN THE HOUSE AND DRIVING HER WILD...SO..I JUST ORDERED A DOZEN FOR HER TO PLACE IN HER HOME....I WOULD LIKE TO TRY TO PLANT A FEW... I DONT KNOW HOW TO GO ABOUT IT...BUT, SURE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW... THANKS FOR HELPING ME GET ACQUAINTED WITH THIS HARMLESS AND WONDERFUL WAY TO GET RID OF PESTS!! THANKS...MARCIA

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I have trouble with my cattle eating and chocking on hedgeballs. Does anyone have any suggestions ? I have alot of hedge on my 160 acre ranch.. need some help ...

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On summerholiday in Hungary I found an Osage Orange near Hortobagy. This is on the hungarian Great Plain. I was told that 40 years ago these trees were also in Hungary. Never seen them before.

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Hello, it was nice to find your site and learn about our "monkeyballs." Olmsted Falls, Ohio has many osage orange trees, which were used by native American Indians in our area to make bows. There is always a huge crop of these monkeyballs down our street. Squirrels feed on them and when the winter is mild, you'll see an exploded monkeyball or two in the snow which has been feasted on by a squirrel for a quick winter snack. Since the wood is so strong, I wonder if it would be safe to use for parrot toys? No need for bows and arrows here!

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I have bought some hedge apples for the first time for decorative use. My mother puts them out to repel insects.

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I'm so happy to have found your site. I always wondered what these weird little fruits were and why the tree looked so odd. There is a huge hedgeapple tree on my family's property in Ripley and I know it has been there since the 60's. I never knew they were so handy. Thanks for all the handy tips.

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My husband and I have argued over hedgeapple trees on our property since we bought it. He was tickled to death when I heard about your website on a national news show we get through satellite dish. We, from reading your site, mistakingly call them hedgeballs. I will try to remember that fact. Lots of good info on the site. We also burn the wood in our only source of heat...a wood burner. It certainly does have a high BTU rate as far as I am concerned. Only like to add it to slower burning wood. Will probally return to the site because like you, my husband is a huge supporter of the hedgeapple and its tree they come from.........something else we learned. We always called them hedge trees. Their strong wood also is used in farm fencing in our area. Thanks for the chance to read all this information. Have added it to our favorite list.

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I just received my first order today and I'm so excited. I've already got them in their places. I am a little worried, tho, I received four and three of them are already very spotted. Will that shorten the effective lifespan? I guess that they probably got hot in during shipment b/c I was here when the UPS guy delivered them. How will I know that they've reached their "death"? Thanks!

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just saw an article on these and their abilities as an insecticide. I have never heard of such a fruit. I am wanting some,but all I can find is that they are out of season. I WANT some bad. Where can I purchase them?? I would love to find a place to purchase the plants. I am from South Georgia and it seems all bugs love this area as much as I do. Any help with finding these would be greatly appreciated.

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I'm giving Hedgeapples a try for the first time. I'll let you know the results.

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just found out about the hedge apple and have to try it .Thanks for the great pages.I'm tired of all these non-natural ideas you find in stores & I 'm really anxious about trying this .

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moved into an apt. that was full of roachs papaw (from oklahoma) brought some down from ok and never saw another roach from then on!

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My dad had always told me as a young girl that the "horse" apples was god's bug repellant. I never doubted him. (he also told me they were poisonious, which I'm glad to find out they are NOT.) I've been telling my friend, Shayla, to use the apples to fight her "bug" problem. She would just giggle. So I will be sending a link to your site to 2 great people, my Dad and Shayla. Thanks so much.

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I have been using hedgeapples for many things over the years. I still have to complete my masters thesis to graduate and I figured what better topic than the common uses of hedgeapples throughout the urban household. If you have any refrence links or have done research of your own feel free to contact me

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My grandmother had a tree in her yard and told me that they keep the roaches out. I had not seen any since or even thought about them until we started to be more cautious about using commercial pesticides. I saw some on vacation in Arkansas and brought some home. THEY DO DETER SMALL INSECTS, SPIDERS, ETC.

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I bought an Osage Orange tree today and am fascinated !Is this a fast growing tree ? I'm also curious..since I only bought one and don't know if it is "male " or "female"...should I buy more ? Since these are large trees....Please email me

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Very good site -- loved the toy truck pic!! Have a good day!!

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I grew up on a farm in Missouri. We had a favorite Hedgeapple tree on our property. Didn't know then the wood could be used for bows, furniture etc. Planning a trip back to the old home area soon, hope to find some wood to bring back, may find someone to make a bow for me. Have enjoyed your site very much and have it bookmarked for future reference.

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e are in the process of removing as many hedgeappple trees as possible from our yard. The spines ruin the lawn equipment tires, the falling apples are dangerous to anyone or thing underneath, the rotting apples smell, the litter from the squirrels is everywhere - they like to perch on the deck and eat. If anyone wants to dig up the things from my yard they are welcome. Also, let me know who wants the apples and they can come pick them up for nothing!

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I am a woodturner (using a wood lathe) and I love turning Osage Orang, commonly referred around here to as Bodok. I love the beautifulyellow color of the wood. Highly polished when finished, it is almost gem quality. My only problem is finding enough to make things with. should you like, I can furnish photos on e-mail of my finished bowls. I'd be glad to participate in any kind of research that includes cutting and shaping. I keep almost all of my saw dust and shavings to prove to folks that I didn't dye the wood! I would like to see an actual picture of the tree.

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Wife & I went out for a walk one autumn day. She pointed up in a tree and asked, "What's that green ball?" I went for a closer look from underneath, the thing fell and just missed me! Next fall we might just wear hard hats on our walks. One note: Mockorange is a midwest ornamental shrub

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I have used the Hedgeballs to repell insects in our old country house cellar. (they don't help with garter snakes however!!) It is sad to see the fence row Hedge being pulled out and burned just to get a few more feet of earth to plant .

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We were visiting Fort Simcoe State Park in Central Washington State and found this strange ball on the ground. After inquiring with the Park Ranger we found out the name, and then found your web site. I have never seen a Osage Orange before and now we are going to try and get one to grow. This maybe hard as the Orange Seed has been on the ground all winter. We will try. I was very impressed with your web site. Job well done.

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We had a hedgeapple tree in the front yard of the house where I grew up in Alabama. We always called them Horseapples. I was telling a friend at work about it and he found your site for me. Wish we had known that they could be used as an insect repellant because we had a problem with roaches from time to time.
Also, it was fun playing catch with these and bursting them with a stick to practice batting.

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We have osage oranges growing on our property in Australia (near Everton, N.E.Victoria). I'm not sure how they came to Australia but maybe it was with the miners who came to the gold diggings in this area in the 1860s. Some of the trees on the roadside near us are on the Heritage listing so that they are protected from development. They are used for decorative wood here but I did not know about the pest repellent properties. I'll try it!

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I've had a life long (73 yrs)love affair with Osage Orange. The section of land that I grew up on was divided by "hedge" The original settlers there had originated in Illinois. This was in Nemaha County, NE, and the hedge was brought with the farmers when they settled there. Our kitchen cook stove was "stoked" with hedge at night because there would still be coals by morning. How it would crackle and pop as it burned! Dad would make "break away" pins for his cultivator by pounding small pieces of the wood through a metal plate. The fence posts were always of Osage Orange--and some of them are still in place and sturdy still. One year my folks made Osage Orange "flowers". They were beautiful but what a sticky, messy job.

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Wondering about life span of a hedgeapple, how to preserve, and decorative uses. My father in law suggests I sell them, due to our abundance on the farm, but seems like a messy business to me. What else can we use them for? My wife wants to dry and decorate - looking for advice. Thanks, Matt

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Steve from above gave me one as a Christmas present. What a nice friend! So I now have a Hedgeapple dissected in my living room, but no more bugs! They really are a great insect repellent.

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For years, I've spotted one or two spiders in our downstairs sink every morning. Three weeks ago a friend told me about using hedgeapples to repel insects. Since I placed one on a piece of aluminum foil behind the toilet, only one lone spider has been seen in that bathroom. Thanks, hedgeapples, I'll never be without you again! And this is a marvelous web site, Mr. Hedgeapple. Good work.

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I was hunting here for the first time and watched some whitetails eat a strange fruit. I looked it up and they were hedge apples. That answers the question of whether Whitetails eat them. If you need more hedge apples let me know.

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If Hedgeapples (Osage Oranges) were part of the stock market, I'd be rich, as there is no downside to their production. I've seen them for years, and now that I own a house with two trees in front -one on neighbor's side, they drop like rain. I thought there must be a use use for them since passer-by would coyly stop their cars and, NOT INFREQUENTLY ENOUGH, take a few. Oh! Would they only come back for more of the 500 or so one tree seems to produce. The squirrels eat them and leave a mess on the front lawn. Reluctant to intrude on HEDGEAPPLE.COM'S business, next year, all the Baltimore Locals (since they're almost gone for this year) can have all they want.....No need to call, just come by...we're in the ph. book...Please!!!!

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Hello!!!! Neat site!! I'm looking for some osage lumber/logs/ or trees people want removed!!! I'm in the Dallas area and would love to get a hold of some..... Please reply to ralbers@flash.net

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I assume the season for hedge apples is limited to the fall. Is it possible to freeze or otherwise preserve them for use as an insect repellent throughout the year? Also, why do you not post the responses to forum questions on the site? I would think all your participants would be interested in many of the answers. Interesting place. Thanks.

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HELLO, I AM VISITING YOUR BEAUTIFUL PAGES AGAIN, SINCE I WROTE IN THE GUESTBOOK ABOUT 2 MONTHS AGO, MY DEAR FRIEND IN ROCKFORD,IL HAD MISPLACED THE ADDRESS AND SO I AM FORWARDING IT TO HER AGAIN. SHE WANTS TO SHOW YOUR WEBSITE TO ANOTHER OF HER MANY FRIENDS. THANK YOU FOR SHARING INFORMATION ABOUT "HEDGEAPPLES." IT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO YOU THAT IT IS SAID THAT I MAY BE A DESCENDENT OF CHAPMAN, "JOHNNY APPLESEED."

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I've spent eight years trying to identify the huge trees I have on my property. The tree books say Osage Orange are in Texas and grow to 50 feet tall and two feet diameter, so I did not think that was what they were. Then I found a few hedgeapples on the ground and realized that they came from the same kind of tree but smaller. How big is that one in Virginia? I may have competition. I would guess a couple are 90 feet tall and seven or eight feet around. However mine are dying and they look terrible. I have been trying to identify them to know how to remove them. Whenever I try to cut dead limbs it dulls my chain saw. I have green canopies way up there but huge hanging branches below that are dead and like iron. Two-thirds of the trees are gray stone branches. Can someone give me information on how to prune or remove them? They are either too old or all males I have a lot more trees than hedgeapples so they aren't very useful and scraggly as they are, they are very ugly.

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fes#7

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You has a really nice Page. Very interesting! See You fes#7

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I thought the trees looked like "Adam Family" trees. Without leaves they are very snarly looking. Glad to find out some good things about the hedge apples. My kids call them monkey brains. I will try the insect theory. Thanks

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I LOVE Hedge Apples...and the trees that they grow on! The trees are so interesting to look at, the secondary branches seem to grow skyward off of the main branches. I like to think about the Native Americans making them into bows and later the Pioneers using them for fencing. They are unique and interesting. By the way, have you ever cut one into slices and dried it in a slow oven at 250 degrees for an hour? It is beautiful! Claudia Agnes

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I'm doing a science fair experiment and this site gave me loooooooooooooooooots (lots) of information. Thanks. I collected horse apples, dissected it and took out the seeds.

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Hi, Mr. Hedgeapple; Many, many years ago (when I was a kid) I helped my family pick up hedgeapples. Besides using them in the house we fed them to the hogs. . . . they loved them. The only place I see them anymore is when we go thru Kansas on the way to Oklahoma. I have picked some up along the road when it was the right time of year. . . .

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My husband I were golfing and I saw some green things that I thought were apples from a distance. When we got closer I was intrigued by this strange fruit. I took one with me and asked in the pro shop if they knew what they were. They did not! Being a teacher, I took it to school to find out if anyone knew what it was. Nobody had ever seen one before. Then one of the teachers told me she was at an Arts & Craft show and bought some. She told me the name and what they were used for. Also asked if I was golfing anymore because she wanted more and didn't want to have to pay for them. I plan to go back to the golf course and see if I can get some more. Then I can bring them into the classroom and get the class interested in something other than "talking". The rest is history, I looked up "hedgeapple" and found this site. Thanks.

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Have a tree always wondered what good they were and am finding out.

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We have osage orange trees on our 2.5 acres of land, and we do not know what to do with the oranges! We just spent all day picking up the oranges that filled our pickup truck, and feel that they must have a purpose-but what? Do any animals eat them? Can I or SHOULD I deliver them somewhere? Help me decide what to do with them. We feel like we are the only ones in the world who have these "things" on their ground! They keep getting bigger, too!

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Hi Mr. Hedgeapple, Osage Orange sightings in the Whippany NJ area. One afternoon my friend and I took a walk after lunch and came across this fruit or vegetable. We were not sure what it was.. We were puzzle until yesterday, when he told me the name of the tree and Hedgeapple. I have learn so much from your web site.... I live with eczema and pest control is harmful to my skin. I plan to use the Hedgeapple as a insect repellents. I will like to educated myself a little more, before I purchase the Hedgeapples. Thank you very much for all the information you have provide us...

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Do you really sell hedge apples? My gosh they are everywhere 'round here, all ya want for free. I am native to the mid-west and so are the trees, so its all just common place to me. I've never tried to grow them on my property but I think I might do that. You site has some useful info and some of the comments in the guest book are humorous. I enjoyed visiting here. Thanx, Harold

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We recently moved to east central PA - went walking in a local cemetery and found the hedge apples all over the ground... very old and deteriorated trees. Never saw them previously .. a friend from a college told me what they are. What an interesting tree... I'm from northern NY State and I never saw these. I don't think they are very common around these parts!! But, it was a trip back in time seeing these very old trees AND visiting the old cemetery also. I just couldn't believe the size of these seeds (fruits)... they are marvelous.

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I may have found some larger Osage Orange trees than the one listed on your fine website. While the trees I've found are not as bushy, they may be taller. I estimate them at 70 plus feet. Each trunk is about 2 ft in diameter. They must have been pruned at some stage because the lowest branches are 15 to 20 feet above the ground. Each tree is single trunked but some appear twisted or gnarled. Interestingly, these trees form a line along one side of an empty parking lot. I'm not surprised no one wants to park beneath them. Please email me if interested in the exact location.

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I have heard that hedgeapples repel spiders, etc from your home, so my daughter-in-law and I went to the park yesterday to gather some. Now, my question is: Do I have to put the hedgeapples INSIDE the house in every room, or are they just as effective outside around the foundation of the house? Thanks for your help.

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I had a friend who just came back from his place in N.Dakota & brought a box with him. Not sure where he got them. But I`d like to find out if I can get them to grow here.

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Osage Orange sightings in the NYC area! I was driving down Patterson Plank Road in Jersey City, NJ today overlooking lovely Hoboken, NJ and I saw the little green suckers on the side of the road! I pulled over immediately screaming "Osage Oranges!" knowing exactly what they were. I made my boyfriend grab one off the street, explaining their a natural cockroach repellant! You see, my Dad has a very large Osage Orange tree growing in his back yard in Redding, CT. Since I was a little girl I've been helping my Dad pick em up off the ground and toss them in the woods so the lawnmower doesn't get destroyed. One of my coworkers said he's seen these trees growing in his neighborhood of Northport, Long Island, NY. My assumption, based on the history of these things is that the Native-Americans of this area planted them to make bows.

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After I put the hedgeapples away in the corners of my house I was kept awake all night because the spiders were slamming doors and packing suitcases. Question: do they have any effect on the chinese beetles?

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I have been a hedgeapple lover for years. Each fall my husband and I go out and collect dozens of them from trees we spy on the edge of country lanes. We pile them up in baskets and use them for our fall decorations along with pumpkins, mums, and hay bales. When I was a kid in Ohio we called them monkeyballs. I usually wash mine with a bleachy water solution to keep them looking nice longer. I'm not really sure it works but I do it anyway.

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Hi, I have been looking all over for information about these wonderful smelling, multi-functional "fruits"! A couple of friends informed me of the name of the tree, and I am hoping to be able to grow some out back. Do I just use a "winter rotted" one and mix it with black dirt and plant in the fall? (or spring?) One more question...If I have some covered in the sticky sap stuff and want to make them "prettier", do you have any suggestions for removing the sap?

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We have tons of hedge apples because they fall off our trees that are out in the back woods, on our property. What I'm trying to find out are there "seeds" in the apples? We want to plant some hedge along our property line and I don't know where to buy hedge or if I can start them from some of the trees we already have. Please help me.

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The Other Day I Stopped By My Husbands Dr. And Along The Curb Were These Funny Looking Bumpy Green Things. These Had Never Seen In My 56 Years. I Took One Into The Office And Only One Person Thought She Knew What They Were . A Hedge Apple. I Had Never Herd Of Them Either. So I Went And Gathered More, I Would Like To Know If They Can Be Painted And Used In Decorating For The Holidays. They Are So Cute. I Collect Apple Things. I Think I'Ll Go Get More. But It Looked More Like A Bush That They Came From. A Few Were Still Hanging But The Rest Were Everywhere On The Ground. My Sister Helped Me Find This Site. Thank You For The Info !!!!

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A very dear friend of mine in Rockford IL, where I was born, 70 years ago, wrote to me that she had gathered some hedgeapples on a recent outing. Now that I see your web site, with the very vivid pictures, (they are great) I do recall picking hedgeapples in my youth and using them, along with friends, like snow balls. Now I shall try them, to rid my home of various species of spiders which have annoying webs where they are not wanted. Thank you for the great information.

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Wow! Thanks - I just visited my old home and 1st grade school in Richardson, Tx. It's the first time in 40+ years. One of the things I remembered were the "horse apples" in our back yard. I've asked others about the strange looking things but nobody new what they were. Now, visiting my old home - there they were again. They really do exist! Thanks for the great web site on them - horse ..... I mean, hedge apples. Chick

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I found out about your sight from Martha Stewart's magazine. I love these things. Here in this part of Texas, we call them bois d'arc trees and bois d'arc apples. Also we call them horse apples. When my son was in kindergarten, his school celebrates Johnny Appleseed and each student was to make something interesting with an apple, such as an animal or something. Because I love bois d'arc apples, we used one of those and made a frog out of it. Of course, that was most unusual because most people thought of edible apples only. Each kindergarten class learns about Johnny Appleseed and the different kinds of apples. We also took to school a tomato because it is considered a "love apple" (in the dictionary)! Deer love these osage oranges (bois d'arc) too!

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We have several Osage orange trees lining our driveway--we have to park our car far away during the fall! Thanks for all the info on hedgeapples i did not know what they were at all for two years! I have a toddler, are they poisonous? Also, we have so many I'd like to try to sell them if there is a market... Thanks!

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Here in western Hamilton County Ohio we are having a banner year for our Osage Orange trees. The hedgeapples are very large and dense. Unblemished as well. We still have about 2/3's of them on the trees in spite of windy weather this week end. I'm going to put them in the basement to help with the insects. Thanks for the interesting page.

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Your site is wonderful!! I was in Northwest Arkansas and saw my first hedge apple and of course being a kindergarten teacher I had to bring some home to show my students. None of the locals could tell me anything except that they are also called horse apples. I am so excited to show my students. We live an hour south of corpus Christi so this is a new experience. Thank you

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My daughter is in college and she is renting a house with 3 other students. She mentioned that they have a lot of spiders. I told her to get some hedgeapples and put them around in every room. I've never tried them, but have heard they work. Their college campus in Missouri is loaded with the trees. So she's going to take a sack with her to school and get some and try it. Hope it works. I never see any trees in Iowa but have seen them sell them in the grocery stores.

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I found an Osage Orange tree a while back and picked some cuttings, but have not had any success trying to get them started. Maybe I can find some information here. Thank You. rr

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Since learning about Hedgeapples a few years back i have been using them each summer to repel spiders in our home. Would like to start a tree of my own, but i understand you need a male and a female tree in order to produce the apples, If i use Mr. Knapp's method of putting the apples in a container, adding water until soften, mashing them, then pouring them into a row, would that produce both male and female seedlings? Or is there a place where i can order seedlings or sprouts for these trees? Thanks, H. Kiser in Ky.

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Great Webpage! However... Richard Jauron, Department of Horticulture, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa states on his page: www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1997/10-10-1997/hedgeapple.html; That there are no scientific facts that supports the use of "Hedge Apples" for pest control! Perhaps someone should do a research paper on this,and earn their Doctorate Degree!

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I moved to Dallas from New Orleans last year. I had never seen a "horseapple" in my life. The parks here are littered with them. At first I thought they were balls, then realized they were a fruit. I came looking on the internet because my daughter was playing with them and I wanted to be sure they weren't poisonous. Thank you for the information, it is fascinating. It's kind of scarry, seems like one could knock you unconscious if you were standing under a tree when it falls.

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My husband And I first noticed the tree from our freeway exit off 465 to our house. There is a tree right off the exit. I made him stop on the off ramp so I could go pick one of the fruit. To say the least I was rather intrigued by this strange looking thing on the tree. I wanted to know if it is edible in any way. I have been trying to find out what the tree was for many months. So I am so thrilled to find out about it. I cant wait to go collect more and start decorating and repelling with them. Thanks from INDY.

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Hello to my fellow Osage Orange affictionados. i too spent many years gathering these fascinating fruits to add to Xmas decorations & outdoor wreaths. you might be interested in knowing that they can grow this far north, on the Niagara Escarpment, by Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. they are not common here & most people don't know what they are, but we have our very excellent Royal Botanical Gardens here in Hamilton, where we can identify almost anything that grows... I'm sad to say that the site where i gather my oranges is under some sort of construction, so, I'll have to wait until next year to see if any trees survive.

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Over the weekend I picked about two dozen of these hedgeapples. I have been doing this for a good number of years. I usually take them into my classroom and display them in small baskets. My students, 5th graders, are so exciting about trying to find out what these things are called. They are online researching. Who would have thought that these rough green "Osage Oranges" would have caused so much excitement.

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I WAS AT MY AUNT AND UNCLES PLACE THIS MONTH THEY LIVE IN SHELBYVILLE, TENN. WE WERE TRYING TO FIND WHAT THEY WERE AND WHAT WE CAN USE THEM FOR.

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Hello again. I reported last month that hedgeapples will keep lady bugs away. This is not true. The ladybugs were just late this year.

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I HAVE A THREE STORY MOCK ORANGE TREE IN MY FRONT YARD AND HAVE BEEN DUCKING THESE ORANGES FOR YEARS. IS IT COMMON FOR AN OSAGE TREE TO LIVE IN NYC? HOW MANY TREES DO YOU KNOW OF IN NYC? I HAVE NEVER SEEN ONE BEFORE I MOVED INTO MY HOME? WHERE DO THEY ORIGINATE FROM? PLEASE ANSWER

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MY HUSBAND AND I HAVE A TREE IN OUR YARD AND THIS YEAR 2001 IT HAS PRODUCED AROUND 1200 APPLES WE WERE JUST TRYING TO FIND OUT IF THEY WERE GOOD FOR ANYTHING!!!HA

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Just recently learned about Osage Orange trees and Hedge Apples from my brother in Northern Ill..Can you tell me if the trees would stand the heat that we have in Az.

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my family has been using osage oranges for years to control mice. we live in the country, surrounded by corn fields. when the corn is harvested, we would get mice in the house. whenever we have osage oranges in the house, we don't see mice. NOT ONE. I've never heard of using them for spiders or bugs but I know they work wonders for mice.

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A year ago we moved into our home and I found these grapefruit sized weird green things rolling down the hill from the top of our street. Quite a mess when the cars get to them first.. No one could give me a clue what they were. Now I know!! They grow in Southeastern PA too. Thanks for the info-I'll share it with the neighbors.

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HOW COME THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS WHERE TO FIND THESE LITTLE DEVILS.....I FIND THEM AT CRAFT SHOWS....NOT FOR SALE.....LET'S START A HEDGEAPPLE FRUSTRATION GROUP....

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Take a look at the September 2001 issue of Natural History magazine wherein you'll find an article by Connie Barlow entitled "Ghost Stories From the Ice Age" that suggests the osage orange (maclura pomifera)has been around these parts (North America) for a very long time. Check it out.

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My Dad and I would occasionally see these when out hunting. We thought they were the strangest looking fruit we'd ever seen we nick-named them brain-fruit. I found a site earlier identifying the tree as osage-orange, curious I searched and found this site to actually learn more. Thanks for the great info. Wait till my dad hears about this.

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i know why jeff goodwins trees didnt survive..... they need to be planted male & female trees together. the female tree is the one who produces the fruit..... its the chicken and the egg concept here.

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We have had these trees in our neighbor forever. I never knew what they were. Everyone I asked always called them monkeyballs. I am so happy after all of these years to finally know what things are. We played with them as children. Thank you for your great site. Sarah Turner

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We have had these trees in our neighbor forever. I never knew what they were. Everyone I asked always called the monkeyballs. I am so happy after all of these years to finally know what things are. We played with them as children. Thank you for your great site. Sarah Turner

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We have had these trees in our neighbor forever. I never knew what they were. Everyone I asked always called the monkeyballs. I am so happy after all of these years to finally know what things are. We played with them as children. Thank you for your great site. Sarah Turner

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Hello! My house in S. Ohio had been invaded for many years with ladybugs, the convergent ones. They winter-over in the soil. And stay in the house, get in your hair, food and vacuuming three times a day doesn't really help much. Last year I put 40 green hedgeapples around the house, and one in each room on a dish. This year I have had no ladybugs in the house. It is just past the season for their beginning to come in. Not much for scientific research but I am a happy camper.

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My husband and I live in central Pennsylvania. We often go for evening rides though the country. We came across these funny looking green balls laying on the ground. Not knowing what they were, I decided that they would look nice mixed in with my fall decorations outside. My husband and I gathered some up and brought them home. Dave said he would take one to work with him and ask some older people if they may know what they were. He came home and said the were "Horseapples", but they didn't know what purpose the had. They just knew that some animals had choked on them and died.
I have gone for a year or more wondering about these strange balls, so I went searching on the Internet!!!!
I couldn't believe there was a whole website dedicated to the "hedgeapple"!!!! I couldn't believe all the info that was there and had no idea you could use them for dried decorations. My husband told me go for it "Marthat" he knows I love to decorate!!!
We have these trees all over the place. I could be Rich!!! Thanks for all the info. Now my husband won't have to here me say again "I wonder what the are???"
Thanks Again,
Dave and Lisa Ernest

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All of use here at Hultman Signs say thank you so much for the use full information. We learned something new today. Glenn has a hedgeapple tree and is planning to bring an apple for each of us here tomorrow!!!! He promised!!! Thank you again.......and if you ever need a sign.........

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I have a problem with crickets so was looking up hedgeballs. To answer the many questions about what to do with all your hedgeballs the word is SELL THEM!!!!! Martha Stewart recently showed them as decorations on TV and some locate store are selling them at outrage prices. Don't put them on anything you value as they are like super glue on the inside. As too them repelling the crickets I haven't had much luck. Thank you BG Kansas

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I had been told to use Hedgeapples to repel spiders. I placed an apple in each of the areas where the spiders had been seen. Including three under out bed. I placed them in late July, not until October did we start to see spiders reentering our house.

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We lived in NE Kansas in the 20's and 30's, grandad was a blacksmith and in the winter months used osage orange to make beautiful small furniture, foots stools etc, as I remember he used metal working tools for this. Wish I still had some of his handicraft, mine was burnt in a house fire.

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This is an interesting site. Hedgeoranges grow all over the place in Southern Ohio. Even wild yet. I'll be back here more then once.

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I recently found some of osage oranges along side a road near my office. I knew what they were and immediately picked them up to take home to dry. I am very close to Colonial Williamsburg,VA and the oranges are used in Christmas decorations (wreaths, etc.). How do you dry them? the first batch I brought home turned brownish/black when left in the air to dry. Thanks for the info. Thanks especially for the info on where to buy other oranges and the trees themselves. p.s. My mother is from Charlotte County, VA where the largest Osage Orange tree is located at Patrick Henry's home Red Hill.

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Hedgeapples are the bomb!

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Hedge will burn up a cheap wood stove. Dead hedge dulls chainsaw blades. Dead hedge thorns will make your hand or knee puff up like you have been poisoned, if you get stuck. Hedgeballs get to 8" round, not just 6". They will dent any car or pickup when they fall. Cattle choke on them fairly commonly. We lost a few cattle that way. Hedge wood is beautiful when finished. NOW! If you buy some cheap, hollow-point, .22 shells and pop the hedgeballs before they soften, they will explode and shower you with green sticky! 20 g. shotgun shells will turn the balls into a fine mist of green sticky! Around here we have "Hedgeball season"! My boys love it! No limit! "Shoot all you can eat!" HA! Later, Philip

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Good info. I use bodock (osage orange) to make ballpoint, fountain pens. beautiful wood.

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We just moved into a newly constructed house and were lucky enough to have a big tree in the front...only no one knew what it was. I did some research and came across the word "Osage" and thought 'hmmm that sounds like it could be that' and then, driving to my house, I was at a stop light and noticed the name of the street, "Osage" and there were some trees just like ours. Whammo, an Osage. I've been quite interested to learn all about it and I feel very lucky, ours is the only house on the street with one!

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I work with Greg (who built this website). I'm just dropping a line to say "hi" and good luck this coming weekend picking hedgeapples.

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Is there a market or a need for hedgeballs/hedge apples? How can one find stores that need suppliers? Thx in advance for your help!

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Great site! Also would like to tell your readers that I have Osage orange lumber 4/4 to 16/4 available in sizes to 22" in width to 22' in length.

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I thought that you might be interested to know that my husband was so impressed with the Hedgeapple, when touring America in the early '90's, that he named our web solutions company after it. In July I hope to be able to order a hedgeapple from you so that I too may experience 'the hedgeapple'.

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I think this site is unique,but my brothers and myself have been selling hedgeballs for many years,here in Iowa.Everytime we told someone that we sold hedgeballs,we always got the same question. What do you do with those things. We were always told that it was just a old wife's tale. but it seems we sell more each year. I really like the truck with the hedgeball on it. COOL SITE!!!

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SAVE THE GOATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I LOVE PATRICK TENNYSON

THIS WEB SITE REALLY TRU [KOOL] I NEVER NEW IT EXISTED I LOVE GOATS

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I cant believe that I found a website for hedge apples. A year ago last October we built a new home with 10 hedge apple trees in the backyard. We were overwhelmed this year by the number of hedge apples that grew and fell from the trees, the lawn fertilizer probably didn't help matters much. We probably sent at least 1,000 pounds to the dump. Next year we would really like to do something different. Do people sell these apples at local farmers market? If not, I think we will be putting an add in our Home owners association newsletter and encourage neighbors to come pick and enjoy. I didn't realize they were such a good natural repellant for bugs.

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I grew up with hedge apples everywhere and had no idea of their use. Thanks!

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Had the wrong email address a couple down the list. I wrote to some people who had signed in already and have had good responses. I'll definitely have some HEDGEAPPLES next year. I cant wait. This is a great web page and very informative. Thank you

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yes here in Oklahoma we call them horse and hedge apple.there are millions of trees here. the rabbits eat them so when rabbit hunting look for osage trees.the indians made their bows out of them.its some hard wood good for burning like oak but pops.when we were little we cut the apple in half and stuck a candle in the middle and under the porch light. it worked i thank a little bit.but there is nothing like seeing a apple explode up side some ones head,car, truck,cop car,curb,building,trash can,front door,or anything that is hard.thanks for reading this and have a better day today from oklahoma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hello.... Hello Mr. Hedge Apple! Nice to know your true name after nearly 43 1/2 years. I have my older brother in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania to thank for the formal intro tonight. It has been a long acquaintance between us and finally we formally meet. For so long I had no idea of your true name and purpose just my childhood alais identity of you as a "Monkey Ball". My story is quaint yet somewhat brief about you. I moved to California 22 1/2 years ago and long lost your acquaintance in my mind until today. I had no idea back when I was younger that I was assisting along with my other two brothers and the other neighborhood boys such senseless murderous act against your brethren by throwing them out onto our country road for the sheer giggles of watching them get squashed by Coal Trucks as they passed on by. And Oh!! I cannot also ignore the fact that we used your other round bumpy green skinned buddies as make believe grenades in our make believe game of "WAR" against the neighborhood boys that would pretend to be our make believe "German Enemy". Sometimes you were used as "bombs" or "ammo" or whatever other purpose we could contrive to keep the "American" side of the many Neighborhood "Wars" you helped win....thus keeping safe and alive so that on another day we could all once again pick sides and have another battle. I never got to say Thank You before so now I say that to you. Thank You for all the fun we had with your brothers and in helping give the minds of young over imaginative boys a release for their innocent adolescent play and testosteronal musings. I have no idea who "taught" us your slang name of the "Monkey Ball Tree". Oh....you know....acting like they were grenades when playing "WAR" lobbing them at our fictitious ENEMY and all. Such childhood memories. As an adult....your information on this website is very informative!! Thanks for finally replacing those adolescent ramblings with useful thoughts about "what" you really is and what purpose you had and have in this world. I just thought I would share a bit info on how kids years ago found use for you. Somewhat typically cruel but no one ever seemed to get hurt by you in the end. Thanks now for filling me in on the truth behind you after all of these years. The Internet truly is a sea of information.

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Lynn

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I was reintroduced to Osage oranges this past Christmas as they were used in a house decoration. There aren't many lest in my neck of the woods, at least I cant find any. They are fascinating and I'll keep looking till I find some. I'd like to find some seeds or small trees suitable for planting. Is there such a thing? Thanks for any info you can send me. Lynn '

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I grew up in central Ohio, and we had Hedge-apple trees EVERYWHERE. In fact, we had one about 20 feet from the house, in which we built a very fine tree-house. Unfortunately, the tree blew over as the result of a near-by tornado. Regarding Osage Orange useage for bows - the sap-wood and heart-wood of the tree make a very good natural laminate for construction - the sapwood will end up on the face of the bow, with the heartwood facing the user. Just be prepared for a lot of saw sharpening!

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Great site!!!

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Ive seen horse apples growing-up but never knew their American heritage. Thanks for the very informative site. I plan on planting a few Bodark trees in my backyard next spring.

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We have several trees growing in our village. As children we used to roll them down an hill and let the cars hit them. We also used to throw them at each other. They are quite interesting looking and "brainy" - this is why we named our group of girlfriends after them. We are still friends and occasionally collect them and dry them - thirty years later.

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Here in central CT we have 3 Osage trees that grow on the edge of a now historic site. My Dear Old Dad was the Police officer directing traffic when a construction crew was on site, planning to cut them down!!. He knew what these trees were and how rare they are up here in CT. and stopped the crew. He alerted the town and now these lone Osage trees continue to thrive on the edge of a busy road and right in front of a Burger King! Next spring I plan on planting seeds from these historic trees throughout the state. In the spirit of Johnny Appleseed, wish me luck ;) Thanks for all the hard work and useful info that went into this web site. Gratefully yours, Lenore

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let me get this straight, you actually sell hedge apples. and people buy them. Jim online today looking for a way to kill hedge trees. they are the biggest menace dive faced in my life. they're a danger to anyone walking down my street or driving and they are denting the censored out of my roof. to censored with hedge apples....

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My father found hedge apples growing on the side of the road In Cutchouge, on Long Island, NY and it took us a week to figure out what he had found. Thanks for all the information!

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Wow, thanks for the informative web-page. A co-worker found a hedge-apple on the ground while driving through Whitnall Park, here in the Milwaukee area, and brought it back to us. We were all amazed by it and didn't know what the heck it was. Since I live with a horticulturist, I quickly found out more on the interesting tree. My friend from work insisted that the tree was not in the area he found the fruit, but told me the general area. I just had to look, and low and behold, there was a tree, right next to the roadway. Awesome! A little further down from there, was another. Yes, they even grow way up here in Wisconsin! Now, after having found out how useful the interesting greenish-yellow fruit is, I'm dying to put it to use! Thanks again!

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I have ordered 4 hedgeapples (they apparently don't grow in Long Island, NY), and wonder how to dry them. I'll use them now in a Fall arrangement, but would love to save them to use as a Christmas decoration as well. Help, please!

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I have a beautiful Hedgeapple tree in my back yard which stands about 55 feet tall and is about 6 feet in diameter. I was wondering if there is anything I can usefully do with the Hedgeapples that fall from this tree. It seems like such a waste to bag them up and give them to the City every week. I've placed about 150 bags of these Hedgeapples at my curb over the last 4 weeks. I still have more on my tree too. Help me out here if you know of something I can do with these. Thanks.

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I have been looking around on the computer for an hour trying to find a place to buy hedgeapple trees. Can you help me? Friends at work are also interested. Thanks for any help you can offer!

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I checked out hedgeapple.com on impulse today and was greatly surprised to see the picture of the "giant hedgeapple" on the flatbed pick-up. It looked suspiciously like a photo from a farming magazine from a couple years ago of a "giant pumpkin" on a flatbed pick-up. Anyway, whoever took that picture is a true artist, and the man who made that truck out of a Prince Albert tobacco can as a boy is obviously a genius. I can only imagine how incredibly gifted his grandchildren are.

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This may be a different comment from most. But I think this is the craziest thing I've ever seen in my entire life. You people are buying "horse apples" (this is what we call them here, no our brains are not green!) for $2 each. Come down here, I'll give you a whole pasture of them for free! I don't see how this "company" can sleep at night. These are the nastiest "fruits" that we have around here. Believe me, I wouldn't but a whole tree for $2!!!!! This is NOT worth however much money either of you are spending. I can believe there's actually a web site for this!

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I enjoyed your informative site greatly, and will also go too many of the off shoots. I will probably try growing some of the trees myself. I bring home several bags of fruit each year, and spread them around in my garage and basement. There are three orchards within a mile or two of my place. Thanks again for all the information. You have one of the best web site I have been to. Good Work !

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I saw my first osage orange just a year ago while camping at Canyonlands National Park, Utah. My husband and I were walking with our two dogs not far from the Visitor's Center. I saw what looked like a dump site for tennis balls - they were round, yellow green, scattered around the base of a tree, and lying on top of a picnic table. I moved in for a better look and realized from their rough and convoluted skin I was not looking at tennis balls. Having never seen such things before I picked up one and stopped at the Visitor's Center to ask a ranger what they were. The chap I spoke too said he had grown up with them and as a kid called them "monkey brains" - not a very attractive name I thought. He then told me its true common name - "osage orange." For a California girl from Orange County, I liked that name much better. I kept the fruit I picked up that day (the ranger also told me they are inedible), and it now rests on a shelf in my study. It is desiccated, more brown than green, the size of a walnut, and hard as a rock. Since that visit to Canyonlands I have seen the osage orange mentioned only once - as a small photograph with caption in a decorating magazine! I had no idea the plant fascinates so many people, and has such a wide range. Thanks for you web site!

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I learned about Osage oranges from my mother-in-law last year when she told me her mom used to use them for decoration during the holidays. I have researched the internet and found a place to order them, but would love to plant one in my yard so that I can supply them for her every year. Do you know if a tree would survive in SC? If they would, can someone point me in the direction of where I could find a tree to plant? I have ran into blank stares when I ask for Osage orange/Hedgeapple info. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Happy holidays:)

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Found some along a road and am going to use them to repel spiders and ants.

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My mother and I stumbled across this type of tree many years ago. Not too many people know its location because we enjoy the fruit it bears. We are located in the central part of PA and I know of no other trees in this area. They do help with spiders. I didn't know until I read your home page that they are not poisonous. Thanks for the info.

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My sister-in-law found a fruit on a rural road near our home near Chestertown, MD. I told her its name was osage orange and that the Native Americans made bows out of it, but if she wanted more information, check the Internet. I decided to look myself and I'm glad I found your informative site. At this time, in Chestertown, a wooden ship is being constructed by hand and guess what wood they are using? Osage orange! The name of the ship is the Sultana. I knew of the osage orange as a bush and was surprised to find out they grow large enough to make planks for ships.

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I found this strange fruit in Westchester County, NY...apparently way outside its home range. I didn't know what it was, but a call to the NY Botanical Gardens identified it for me immediately. I found your site via GO Express.

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Spiders come out of our woodwork in the fall! Hedgeapples worked last year and it looks like it's time to get some more!

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Helo to all. I'm interested in information regarding the propagation of Osage Orange. Can someone assist me. Specifically I wish to try making traditional bows once these trees grow to the proper size. I'd love to hear feedback from someone. Have a wonderful day. Respectfully, Kelly Kinney

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when camping we play hedge ball by throwing them in the fire pits and adding points

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hey i get em out here in ohio we have a whole bunch of em in out forests and my next door neighbor has one in his yard.

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I found a great one in Italy, near Florence.

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Found your site while looking for flower making instructions on the Hedgeapple.... Have been amazed at the different pest it eliminates...I picked my hedgeapples in Ok. little over a week ago for the large water roaches I was having a problem with and now little more than one week I am not seeing any of them, I cut mine in quarters and placed in a few flower beds around my back porch and threw some under the porch and pesto..........no sight of them....So if anyone out there has the instructions on how to bake them and create flowers from the slices let me hear from you....I have seen instructions on them several years ago and misplaced......

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Best site of information I have ever stumbled onto. Job well done.

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Hey Don't forget they also grow in Louisiana. We have mean trees out here. Few people actually know what they are. Some of my friends actually thought they were some kind of tree cancer!

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Have found a tree in our town in norther Idaho. I am going to try it out on the spiders and grease ants. Also we are going to try to transplant one in a back corner of out lot....let you know

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Although the word is pronounced 'bodark', the correct spelling is 'Bois d'arc', which obviously is French and translates 'wood of the bow'.

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Great web site to find (discovered by Copernicus Search Engine [FREE} @ www.copernicus.com)

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Found these in grocery store - hope they work as I don't like bugs and hate smell of sprays!

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Found them along side a road. Had never seen or heard of them before. Your website proved very educating! Interesting!!

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My bare-root osage-orange seedlings from Spandle, which I planted in pots with potting mix (all 100 or so of them) are growing like weeds. I plan to plant them out sometime, perhaps waiting for dormancy first in a few months. Anyway, yet another source seems to be www.musserforests.com. It seems that SOME PEOPLE recognize the utility of these trees and sell them to nuts like us.

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GREAT SITE KNOW MORE THEN I EVER NEEDED TO TO BUT VERY INFORMATIVE. I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF IT REPELS SPIDERS BECAUSE MY GIRLFRIEND IS TERRIFIED OF THEM . THANK YOU VERY MUCH I WISH OTHER WEB PAGES WERE AS GOOD AS THIS ONE GINLEY

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Great site! Only question, is how do you find the time?

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In my younger days, before I could drive, we rolled them down a hill which connected to a well traveled hi way and watched the cars and trucks try to avoid hitting them. I apologize for any mishaps that may have occurred.

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I am trying to find if there is anyone that ship Hedge apples to California. I am highly allergic to pesticides and would LOVE to try them. I have been trying to locate a source for almost two years. Anyone with ANY information please HELP!!!! I would be grateful for the help. I also have a 4 year old son that is asthmatic as well as myself.

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Mike Milam

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I enjoyed the site. Is there a list of old Osage Orange Trees? I have one in my front yard that is about 50 feet tall and the canopy is about 80 feet. I measured around the trunk(4 feet from the ground) and it is 16 feet around. If you have an idea how old this tree is, please let me know. Thanks.

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Here in Southwestern PA, they are usually called "monkey balls." One uncommon local name is "Irish snowball. I never heard the name, "hedgeapple," either in forestry college or on the job. One year I grew some easily by mixing a rotten fruit with wet sand from the creek behind by house, spreading the slurry on a seedbed, and covering with a thin layer of soil.

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Hey, my brother in law is Keith Smith. He told me about your sight. People will buy anything! Looks great!

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We build heavy duty lifetime garanteed indoor\outdoor furniture from Osage Orange!

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And while we're at it (see message below), let me turn you on to another spiny, unknown, delightful tree. If you like Maclura pomifera you'll love Kalopanax septemlobus (K. pictus, synonym). It's a large, fast-growing tree from eastern Asia with big maple-like leaves which turn yellow in fall. Great, fat buds, zone five or four hardiness, spines on trunk and sometimes even slight points on leaves. In Aralia family, related to ginseng. Available from Forest Farm and Arborvillage. Big ones may be seen at Arnold Arboretum in Boston. Mainers may visit tree at Littlefield Trial Gardens, UMO, Orono, or in my yard. Try it, you'll love it!

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For those of you (see below) seeking a source for osage orange plants: ARBORVILLAGE, 15604 County Road CC, P.O. Box 227, Holt, MO, 64048 sells 'White Shield', a mostly thornless male selection, in two sizes, for $9.50 and $15.00 plus shipping. THIS IS MY FAVORITE NURSERY. Also, FOREST FARM, 990 Tetherow Road, Williams, OR, 97544, has 'Whiteshield' as well as unsexed seedlings ($15. and $8. respectively. (OR MAYBE THIS IS MY FAVORITE NURSERY) Both catalogues should be in the hands of everyone who is looking for plants beyond what your local nursery sells.

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HIGH FIVE on a website loaded with info of the Osage Orange--Great JOB!! Am trying to find a source of Osage Orange Burls to buy or Lumber 4" thick. If you know of a source please email me direct. Thanks again!!

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I've found two sources for small osage-orange trees thathave websites. Try Spandle Nurseries (800-553-5771, orcheck out http://www.spandlenurseries.com/seedlingprice.htmlbefore you call) for year-old bare-root seedlings (minimumorder 25 at $1.00 each, price break to $0.50 at 100). Rightnow they're still shipping, but the ones they have for saleare being kept dormant in cold storage (they're in Georgia).They might have some in containers: I didn't ask when Iordered today. Another place offering small trees onlineis Adams Nursery (in containers; they should ship treesfor a while if they have them in stock): seehttp://www.wegrowit.com/adams.catalogue.html. I definitelyhave my work cut out for me, trying to get 100 little treesto survive here in the drought and sand...

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The largest osage-orange tree known in Florida is aboutten miles from me -- I'm told. I've never seen it. NowI'll have to 1) make a pilgrimage to it and 2) see whetherI can take cuttings in season from it (might require somenegotiations with the owner...). I've never seen treesoffered by nurseries, not even the "thornless" (not really)male cultivars bred by various universities.

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A fond memory from childhood is hurling hedgeapples over the back yard fence into the field behind our yard. Alas these trees fell victim of the chainsaw. Does anyone know a place I can obtain seeds or trees that are located near Grand Rapids MI? I am glad to know I am not the only fan of these wonderful trees.

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Last fall my place of business sold, what we call spiderballs. Most of us didn't know what they were. I purchased several and put them in my basement, and never had a spider for almost a year. I sure wish they were easier to get a hold of up here in Minnesota. Your sight was real interesting and informative. Thanks.

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I did not know the name of the trees,on our farm we called them hedge trees as most farm people did. I have been surfing the net looking for info on the trees. Their origin,use,history. I have a lot a want to plant some. When I was small we had a row on our farm,it was full of pheasants rabbits,birds of all types! Thanks for the info Jack

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I think hedgeapples are really unique. I harvest around 1000 per year on my property.You have a great and informative website!

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I just fought a losing battle on my campus to preserve a stand of osage orange trees. The head of the grounds keeping didn't like them and no matter how I explained that they were part of our history and were left when we built the school I lost. I did not lose well, I ended up apollogizing to a number of people for my inappropriate language but this fat old hippie gal did win the second part of the battle. They have called a moratorium on the cutting of any more trees on campus. I called the local woodworkers and found homes for most of the wood that the idiots were going to make mulch out of. Love your site, love osage orange trees too. When I get moved I will but one in the middle of my yard and treat it right!

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I knew nothing about hedge apples until this morning. I was actually looking to find information on PawPaws, and this was also mentioned on one of the sites. I find it very interesting, and wonder where I can get my first taste of a Hedge Apple, as it seems they are not really native to Jersey. I am sure I will figure something out.

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great site. thanks slim (jim miller)

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Great site. I´m a Greek Cypriot and I live now 9 years in Finland.In my home country CYPRUS(un island in eastern Mediterranean)in my village 40 km west of Limassol town,in the church yard in the middle of the village there is un osage orange tree about 2 feet wide & aprox. 31 feet high.It´s the only one in Cyprus and nobody knows nothing about it untill few years ago when I took with me to Finland one fruit and fownd out what is it.Un OSAGE ORANGE.It is so amazing cause I like primitive archery and I knew osage orange is un excellent bow wood.For us the fruits were useless,the tree is a good shade tree.Now I plant those trees from the seeds and I have about 10 and I want to make a timper.HOW OLD YOU THINK IS THAT TREE?2F.WIDEx31high.Thank you about the good information.YIANNIS YIANNAKOU HELSINKI FINLAND.

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In PA they are called monkey balls and the only use for them is to put them in a cup in your basement to keep away spiders, it really does work.

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I was driving down the back alley behind my house,and I saw these big green balls that were smashed on the road.I always wanted to know what the heck they were so I looked it up in my tree book,and now I know that they are called hedgeapples. This page is cool, and it's pretty funny too!

No. 74
Name: HERMAN J. RICHARME
Location: PLANT CITY, FL USA
Date: Wednesday, December 1, 1999 at 20:45:15
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I HAVE COOKED HEDGE APPLES TO USE THE LIQUID AS A THIN PAINTABLE LIQUID TO USE IN MY KITCHEN CABINETS. THIS LIQUID DOES REPEL ROACHES. BEST TO USE AN OLD POT TO COOK THEM IN BECAUSE IT IS VERY HARD TO CLEAN THE GLUE LIKE RESIDUE.

No. 73
Name: Ellen G
< Location: Buffalo Grove, IlDate: Tuesday, November 30, 1999 at 14:53:13
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Loved this site and everyone's comments and enthusiasm for these native trees. I think they are fascinating because they are a fruit that has not been "commercialized". They are little known and one has to seek out info such as on this site. They instantly take me back to third grade memories of a friend sharing her discovery of these mysterious green oranges at the edge of field near her home. She told me they were called "monkey oranges". Thanks for answering some questions.

No. 72
Name: jimmie r doshier
Location: wichita, ks usa
Date: Monday, November 29, 1999 at 17:29:06
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enjoyed your site a whole bunch thanks for all the information. some guy outside of wichita makes great pens with the wood from the OSAGE ORANGE. i remember reading about it in the Wichita eagle a couple of years back, he even sent one to the president and it was used in some sort of paper signing of some kind. will try to locate it and pass the info. to you. my brother tried to cook a bunch of hedgeapples down to make glue out of the when he was younger. he didn't have a lot of luck. so maybe he would be better at building a outhouse i'll send him a picture of yours and sugest he put his wifes name on the top of course thanks agin jimmie

No. 71
Name: Jim Cohen
Location: Pittsville, Md USA
Date: Sunday, November 28, 1999 at 06:52:31
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recently returned from Ohio with several Osage Orange fruits that are green, how do I go about planting the seeds? Please let me know! Thanking you in advance. Jim

No. 70
Name: David
Location: Easley, SC USA
Date: Friday, November 26, 1999 at 02:11:42
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Just learned so much information from your site.While working around Chattanooga, Tn. I found these odd lookingballs on Lookout Mountain and picked up some just because they were soodd. For 3 weeks I've been trying to find out what they were.I went to a Flea Market in Pickens,SC Wendesday and a ladyhad some for sale. She gave me the only information she knewand called them osage oranges. I came straight home, put this in searchand found your site. Thanks for such a load of information.

No. 69
Name: Jenni
Location: Hastings, MIDate: Thursday, November 25, 1999 at 19:23:30
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Stopped at Grandma's to drop off some tables today and she told me the trees up the road were covered with Osage oranges. So on the way home me and Mom stopped and grabbed about nine of the things. Funny thing was, I think I saw one laying on the ground with part of a spider web on it. Must have just been a defective one. :)

No. 68
Name: Jeff Osiwala
Location: Livonia, MI usa
Date: Thursday, November 25, 1999 at 05:33:42
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No. 67
Name: Dee Hubbard
Location: Powhatan, VA USA
Date: Wednesday, November 24, 1999 at 10:13:48
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We purchased an old building that was supposedly built in 1797. It was used as a Judge's Chamber many years ago. To my surprise, this fall we had all these strange green fruits which I had only seen once before. Thanks for the info, we get lots of questions that we can't answer. Now, maybe we can answer a few. Would like to know what part is the seed?
No. 66
Name: Ken McGuiew
Location: Farmington, MI USA
Date: Monday, November 22, 1999 at 19:54:10
Comments: I have seen lots of Osage Orange trees here in the Detroit Suburbs. They just look like any other ditchbank and fencerow tree until this time of year. I stopped and harvested several of the fruits this afternoon for my eight-year-old, and he had lots of questions to ask. I lived in Missouri for a few years and we actually had some old hedge fencerows. I would take one of those over an electric fence any day, and probably over a barbed wire fence, too. I used Osage Orange for wood sculpture some years ago. One thing that I haven't seen mentioned is the way osage orange burns. It is the hottest fire that I have ever seen, but really only good in a stove, because of the almost continuous fireworks and sparking explosions as the wood burns. It would be a real trial in a fireplace.
No. 65
Name: Jim Kulbacki
Location: Lake Orion, MI USA
Date: Monday, November 22, 1999 at 13:17:16
Comments:< Superb site, I am truly impressed at the recent repliesduring this harvest season. I might be the only person on earth who knew what an Osage Orange was BEFORE ever seeing one. About two mileswest of my home, many years ago, I spotted my first one. My ten-year old (or so, my recordkeeping is not verygood) tree bore fruit for the first time this year. I givethem to neighborhood kids for "show-and-tell" or otherschool projects. I also tell them about this website. Yes, thornless and fruitless Osage Oranges can begrown, just take some scion wood from the crown of a mature male tree, then graft to your heart's desire.Personally, I appreciate the fruits and thorns. Birds have already nested at least twice in my youngtree. The immature Cedar Waxwings get extra protectionfrom predators with all those thorns. I read that earlier this century, George W Carver triedmany experiments at Tuskeegee with various products derivedfrom plants. The Boll Weevil was ruining the south'scotton crop, and he saw the need to diversify (soybeansand peanuts). He experimented with our beloved hedgeapples,too, but he did not keep good records, and his modestnature stopped him from submitting patents. Frankly, I am a bit saddened that we have wandered toofar from our agrarian roots. Upon showing people in myworkplace an Osage Orange, only one, Cliff (age 85) wasable to recognize it! A few years ago, I was lucky to find a hedgerow thatwas trimmed by utility crews. I took a piece home, putit on my lathe, and made a Chess King out of it. Allmy friends were impressed by the beauty of the wood, butI knew it would darken with age. And my turning toolswon't last with such ornery wood. Take your hedgeapples, and plant your seeds! -Jim Kulbacki, Lake Orion, MICHIGAN

No. 64
Name: Bill Findley
Location: Salt Lake City, UT USA
Date: Saturday, November 20, 1999 at 13:50:43
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As a relocated Kansas'n I brought several "hedgeapples" back to Utah a number of years ago to confound the natives here. I don't know why but they don't seem to be any this far west or at least not in the moutainous regions. Maybe the altitude. I'm sure it's not the temperature. Anyhow I am enjoying you page thanks to my Brother-in-law Bob Schmidt of Emporia.

No. 62
Name: Cindy Schlegel
Location: pottsville, pa usa
Date: Friday, November 19, 1999 at 20:49:17
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I remember osage oranges from elementary school (1960's). Someone would bring them in and lay them on the windowsill. It wasn't until recently that we found a tree a few miles away. We gathered some up and wanted to do something with them. Not knowing exactly what, until we saw your website. We really appreciate the info you had to share. Thanks! (although we, too, would like to know how to grow them--is there other ways then the one you mentioned?)

No. 61
Name: Chris Lotspeich
Location: Deadend,, Pa USA
Date: Friday, November 19, 1999 at 20:01:06
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Around hear we call'em Monkey Balls. I enjoy throwing themat cars from atop an overpass or sticking them in peoples mailboxes just to "censored!" them off!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!~Too Sweet~

No. 60
Name: Frank
Alpharetta, GA USA
Date: Friday, November 19, 1999 at 12:54:47
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What a great site! I grew up in Nashville TN and "Mock Orange" trees were plentiful through-out our neighborhood.I haven't seen one here in the Atlanta area, though I'm sure there must be some. Seeing the photos here bring back memories of wheelbarrows full of hedge apples gathered from the yard and dumped in a pile, bowling them down thestreet, having "Mock Orange Wars" in the fall, and sitcky and stained hands for a week. Thanks for an informative andfun website.

No. 59
Name: ron kasserman
Location: wheeling, wv usa
Date: Thursday, November 18, 1999 at 12:18:11
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we have thousands of old trees as historical fence line. can i just plant an orange to get new trees? march after the thaw? how about making wine?

No. 58
Name: Robin
Location: LArwill, IN USA
Date: Wednesday, November 17, 1999 at 13:32:02
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Great site. I couldn`t find much information about Osage Oranges any where else. We have them growing in Northern IN. Any great hints for starting some new tress on my own?

No. 57
Name: Doug
Location: Martell, Ne US
Date: Tuesday, November 16, 1999 at 15:36:38
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You have a wonderful site about these impressive trees. Are there any other ways to plant these seeds and start our own hedge row than soaking, mashing and planting the syrup?

No. 56
Name: Shelby
Location: Massillon, OH USA
Date: Monday, November 15, 1999 at 20:42:11
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Happy to find your website as we have used hedgeapples for a goodly number of years to deter spiders. We either put them in a small dish and place that in a corner somewhere or sometimes hang them from the ceiling of the basement. They last the winter and really do work to keep spiders under control.

No. 55
Name: KATHLEEN MCLAIN
Location: lowell, mi usa
Date: Saturday, November 13, 1999 at 22:09:10
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Thanks for your web site. Discovered these green balls yesterday and did not know what they were. My husband wanted me to jump out of the car to see what they were. Some were squished on the ground and I did not what to pick them up not knowing what they were. Funny thing is we have drove by these trees for four years and never paid any attention to them on the ground. Today then, I went to a craft show and someone was selling them and thats how I found out what they were. On my way home I picked up a few and will get more tomorrow. So I needed to know more about them and was glad I found your site.

No. 54
Name: Alice
Location: Fishers, IN USA
Date: Thursday, November 11, 1999 at 09:46:42
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Like Vickie from Troy, MI, I had never seen one until a week ago. Naturally, my father and husband know what the hedge apple is but neither one knows its purpose until now. Thanks for your web site.

No. 53
Name: RJDavis
Location: Hays, KS USA
Date: Thursday, November 11, 1999 at 09:21:39
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Try spray painting the hedge apple a bright gold and setting them in sprigs of evergreen, add a gold ribbon bow. Great holiday center piece decoration

No. 52
Name: Vickie
Location: Troy, MI USA
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 21:44:13
Comments:

Thanks for this site. If it was not for this, I still would not know what the fruit was. My husband found one on the side of the road under a large tree. He brought it home thinking it was a large walnut. After I assured him it was not, it took us a couple of weeks of asking different people what it was. After spending the weekend up north at my parents, I described it to my Dad (he is from MO.) and he knew exactly what it was without seeing it. If it was not for your site, I still would not know anything specific about this unusual fruit.I would like to grow my own tree. I aslo would like to know how the fruits can be preserved to use in the spring & summer when insects are more abundant? Aslo can these be frozen?

No. 51
Name: Vickie
Location: Troy, MI USA
Date: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 21:33:11
Comments:

Thanks for the site. It took me a couple of weeks asking anyone what it this friut was. My husband came home from work with one he found on the side of the road. He thought it was a large walnut. To his dissapointment, I told it was not & did not know what it was. We asked around & no one knew. We happened to be up north & I described it to my Dad (who was from MO.) & he knew exactly what it was without seeing it. If it was not for your Hedgeapple site, I still would not know much about this fruit. I also would like to grow a tree. My question would be, how do you preserve the fruit to be able to use in the spring & summer when the bugs are more abundant? Can they be frozen?

No. 50
Name: Pam W.
Location: Parsippany, NJDate: Wednesday, November 10, 1999 at 13:19:48
Comments:

Anyone wanting these in NJ should go to Rte 523 North of Flemington. There is a huge row of them; the fruit is all over on the sides of the road.

No. 49
Name: Jim Peterson
Location: Auburn, KY USA
Date: Tuesday, November 9, 1999 at 11:24:48
Comments:

What about propagation? I would like to be able to start some of my own, and have a couple of hedgeapples and seeds drying right now. Will let you know how it works if I don't hear from you soon!FYI -- Kentucky has several areas where you will find the Osage along fencerows and naturalizing in the edge of woods and draws, particularly in central and western KY. Watch the roadsides -- they're hard to miss!

No. 48
Name: Jim Peterson
<Location: Auburn, KY USA
Date: Tuesday, November 9, 1999 at 11:24:14
Comments:

What about propagation? I would like to be able to start some of my own, and have a couple of hedgeapples and seeds drying right now. Will let you know how it works if I don't hear from you soon!FYI -- Kentucky has several areas where you will find the Osage along fencerows and naturalizing in the edge of woods and draws, particularly in central and western KY. Watch the roadsides -- they're hard to miss!

No. 47
Name: Robby Limerick
Location: Wahalak, MS USA
Date: Monday, November 8, 1999 at 21:21:53
Comments:

Good information, need more detailed info on hedgeapples. The wood makes excellent knife handles and I want to develop the sap into a "fix-a-flat" solution to counter the destructiveness of the thorns on lawn mower tires.

No. 46
Name: Robby Limerick
Location: Wahalak, MS USA
Date: Monday, November 8, 1999 at 21:10:41
Comments:

Good information, need more detailed info on hedgeapples. The wood makes excellent knife handles and I want to develop the sap into a "fix-a-flat" solution to counter the destructiveness of the thorns on lawn mower tires.

No. 45
Name: Robby Limerick
Date: Monday, November 8, 1999 at 21:06:36
Comments:

No. 44
Name: Pedo
Location: Johnston City, IL USA
Date: Monday, November 8, 1999 at 09:45:52
Comments:

Thanks for the info. I'm off to the hedgerows.

No. 43
Name: Janet
Location: stamford, ct usa
Date: Sunday, November 7, 1999 at 16:58:00
Comments:

growing up in missouri hedgeapples or osage oranges were a common site. I haven't seen one in years and did not think there were any around here. Today at church a member of the congregation brought one in and no one knew what it was but me. Other than using them as an insect repellant and that they are inedible, I couldn't tell them anything. This site is great. I will pass it on.

No. 42
Name: c. Gerth
Location: Seymour, InDate: Saturday, November 6, 1999 at 13:56:03
Comments:

What do you have to do to the hedgeapple? whole or sliced to repel spiders

No. 41
Name: Eric
Location: St. Louis, MO USA
Date: Friday, November 5, 1999 at 23:56:51
Comments:

Wow! What an informative web page! I just finished licking a hedgeapple and was very happy to discover, thanks to this web page, I am in no danger of being harmed.Keep up the good work!

No. 40
Name: Lindsey Klinge
Location: caldwell, NJ USA
Date: Friday, November 5, 1999 at 08:29:18
Comments:

Love the site , you know alot about them. Do you think the orange would drive cat crazy like catnip?

No. 39
Name: R Pratt
Location: Centreville, Va USA
Date: Thursday, November 4, 1999 at 13:16:41
Comments:

WOW! I'm thankful for your sight! I took my children on a fieldtrip yesterday to the Shenandoah Valley National Park, aka, Skyline Drive.We came across a tree that had "hedge apples" on it and I couldn't tellmy kids what they were. So, we took one home and disected it and told them wewould look it up on the internet. My husband, who is from Colorado, told methat it was a "horse apple." And that he had never seen them this far north or east before.It just goes to show you can find ANYTHING on the internet.Thanks!

No. 38
Name: Chris Cooper
Location: Alna, Me USA
Date: Tuesday, November 2, 1999 at 19:49:09
Comments:

Maclura pomifera struggles here in coastal Maine (zone 5, but with a long winter and long stretches of deep below zero cold that hurts plants which can take typical zone five minimums for a night or two a winter, but not two weeks at a stretch). My best tree is about twelve feet tall, maybe an inch and a half caliper, and has required probably ten years from an eighteen inch seedling to get there. There is always some tip dieback each winter, typically about a third of the previous season's growth. I would be pleased to receive seedlings or whips dug in the spring from the colder, higher elevation, or more northerly parts of its range, and will construct such cash deals or plant exchanges as anyone wishes to propose. I drove to the Arnold Arboretum yesterday (zone 6) for my annual collection of fruits. I have no idea if my tree is M or F, so wish to promote several healthy trees to guarantee fruit. This is a well done website. Most sites are shallow or stupid or poorly organized. May I also suggest readers visit nyow.com for a nicely laid out site by enthusiasts of the New York Ontario and Western railroad, which has nothing to do with osage orange but is the now defunct railroad which ran past my boyhood home in Guilford, NY (sugar maple country).

No. 37
Name: Carol the Weedlady
PA USA
Date: Saturday, October 30, 1999 at 18:12:50
Comments:

Hi!As a Maclura pomifera fan from 'way back, I very much enjoyed your website. (Followed a link out of curiosity from the "ID This Plant" Forum at Gardenweb.com)I thought this story might interest you:When I first moved to rural western PA several years ago from the eastern part of the state (where I had readily found hedgeapples growing aloong roadsides), I began looking for them as usual in the fall. I could not see any anywhere (though I have since located some) and began asking around. I used all of the "common" names I knew, which included Osage orange and hedgeapple, bois d'arc, and even the botanical name, out of desperation. None of the names or my descriptions availed me until one older lady suddenly realized what I was describing. "OH! You mean monkey balls!" she exclaimed triumphantly. Never, anywhere else (which is not a large "anywhere," just parts of southern Illinois, eastern PA, and Michigan), have I ever heard them called that! I do not even want to consider the etymology of the name, but thought you might like to add it to your collection! Thanks for an entertaining website!Carol

No. 36
Name:Jerry Waggener
Location: Morganfield, KYDate: Saturday, October 30, 1999 at 07:58:00
Comments:

One of the "Knuckleheads" on the biker forum I participate in asked a question about "brainballs". I referred him to your site and now he is ALMOST as smart as me. Thanks from and old retired Sailor.

No. 35
Name: Pete Reeser
Location: Penrose, CO USA
Date: Friday, October 29, 1999 at 19:37:25
Comments:

Living in an arid climate with extreme temperature swings I get tired of the limited vareity of trees available, so I planted one in my yard! The tree is developing into a wonderful looking specimen. It is now about 3" caliper, 15' tall & 6' wide. I purchased it in Texas as a supposed Fruitless and thornless selection that has so far proved to be true.

No. 34
Name: Patricia
Location: Port Dover, Ontario Canada
Date: Thursday, October 28, 1999 at 19:31:00
Comments:

I live on the north shore of Lake Erie up in Canada and we have these trees growing too! I had no idea until today what they were. Great site. Thanks for info.

No. 33
Name: Chris
Location: Hohenwald, TN United States
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 1999 at 21:55:40
Comments:

I think this is a very good web site. I had to get on here and get the other name for the hedgeapple and here is where I found it. Thanks for having this site to use for information and for curious people to find out about odd tings such as the HEDGEAPPLE

No. 32
Name: Shannon, Cassie, Jeff, and Glenn
Location: Paducah, KY USA
Date: Wednesday, October 27, 1999 at 16:28:52
Comments:

All of use here at Hultman Signs say thank you so much for the usefull information. We learned something new today. Glenn has a hedgeapple tree and is planning to bring an apple for each of us here tomorrow!!!! He promised!!! Thank you again.......and if you ever need a sign.........

No. 31
Name: Shirley
IndianaDate: Wednesday, October 27, 1999 at 11:15:58
Comments:

We just bought our dream land. On it are several HUGE Hedgeapple Trees. I had no idea what we had until I found your site. Thank you so much for the great information!

No. 30
Name:Dan and Barb
Location: Nebraska Citty, NE USA
Date: Tuesday, October 26, 1999 at 13:05:06
Comments:

I just discovered these amazing looking fruit, I never knew about them, until this week, with all these wonderful things you can use them for , my husband would like to know if they can cure baldness? Please reply asap as time is running out. HELP!!!!! DAN

No. 29
Name: Marilyn
Location: Mayfield, KYDate: Monday, October 25, 1999 at 14:11:08
Comments:

We have an abundance of hedgeapple trees here and I have been fascinated with them as far as nutritional aspects. Can you tell me how to find the composition? Are they edible and are they high in trace minerals, possibly calcium? If anyone knows, please send info.

No. 28
Name: marilyn pennington
Location: smyrna, ga usa
Date: Thursday, October 21, 1999 at 21:23:58
Comments:

I was looking for uses for the Osage oranges/hedge apples gathered in Kentucky a couple of days ago. My hostess makes flowers from them, slicing and drying the slices in the oven. Tje pieces curl and change color.Their liquid is sticky enough to become a commercial glue. I was told they repell rats, dried slices, but the formal literature suggests that mice adore the trees.

No. 27
Name: Lonzo Micinski
Location: Mishawaka, InDate: Thursday, October 21, 1999 at 18:08:59
Comments:

Hey all you hedge apple, just dont let the hedge apple into the house as they can get into your sock drawer and make a big mess!

No. 26
Name: Kathy Grow
Location: Allendale, Mi U.S.A.
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 at 21:53:32
Comments:

We have purchased property in Mo. and have seen our very first hedge apple. How interesting. I am looking forward to learning more about it.

No. 25
Name: Kathy Grow
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 at 21:51:56
Comments:

No. 24
Name: Robbie Thompson
Location: Matoaca , Va. USA
Date: Monday, October 18, 1999 at 14:46:39
Comments:

Hedgeapples? Osage Oranges? We call them Gungus. Gungus is a cure all. I lost 50 pounds in one day on the gungus plan. Gungus it cures arthritis, appendicitus, rottentoothitus, impotence, diarhhea and menstrual cramps. Repel's ant's, use it as a propalactic. Gungus... Get some Today

No. 23
Name: Chuck White
Location: Lake Quivira, KS U. S. A.
Date: Sunday, October 17, 1999 at 17:11:48
Comments:

We have quite a few of these trees around here and many people think that the apples do repel spiders. I'm giving it a try for the first time this fall. Cheers!

No. 22
Name: Linda Crum
<Location: Argos, Ind. USA
Date: Sunday, October 17, 1999 at 00:15:33
Comments:

Great site, the only one on the net about hedgeapples.Gathered up 2 bushels today to give way for insect repellents. Hope they work.

No. 21
Name:James Easter
Location: Donnellson, Iowa USA
Date: Wednesday, August 18, 1999 at 21:10:46
Comments:

Great site you have here. We need more sites with some of your view points. It also lightens the day. My timber is full of Hedge trees and we make Archery Bows and Fence posts from them. They are a valuable resource here. Please look our site over that is dedicated to the tree. http://www.osageorange.com Like yours is dedicated to the fruit.

No. 20
Name: Fatjack
Location: Lancaster , PA USA
Date: Thursday, August 12, 1999 at 19:33:37
Comments:

There're some people in tidewater VA or MD using osage orange wood in building a (reproduction) old boat design.Apparently there's a lot of old osage hedge wood availablethere, and it is really TOUGH!!! [also used for hunting bows and/or arrows.] So it must grow well there too.

No. 19
Name: Timothy Newport
<Location: Dallas, TX USA
Date: Sunday, August 8, 1999 at 20:04:54
Comments:

Gene, I don't know what to say!!!

No. 18
Name: Lora Morgan
Location: Fuquay-Varina, NC USA
Date: Sunday, August 8, 1999 at 10:40:17
Comments:

When I was growing up in East Tennessee, my Grandpa Charlie had a Osage Orange tree on his farm. It was a huge tree and it would bear a lot of hedgeapples every year. I enjoyed playing with the big, green, bumpy, weird-looking apples. My parents, aunts and uncles would tell me, my brothers and my cousins not to eat them because they were poisonous (which made the apples that much more of a mystery to me). For some reason I remember calling them witch's apples. I think one of my brothers or cousins came up with that name. I also remember my aunts saying that if you put one in your kitchen, it will keep the ants away. During visits and family reunions my aunts would take some of the hedgeapples home with them and they would get a few extra to give to friends and neighbors. Any truth to my "aunt's ant" story? If so, how do I go about finding a hedgeapple for my kitchen? Could I find them at the local farmers market? My Grandpa Charlie's farm was sold several years ago and I am not sure if the tree is still there. Besides, the farm is in TN and I am now living in NC. Please help! These ants are driving me crazy! I have to use an ant spray about twice a week. I don't like to use the spray; it stinks and makes a mess. I would much rather look at a handsome hedgeapple sitting on my countertop. Besides, it would be a constant reminder of my wonderful childhood, growing up on my Grandpa Charlie's farm. Those were the best years of my life.

No. 17
Name: Jenny
Location: Oldtown, MD USA
Date: Saturday, August 7, 1999 at 14:47:40
Comments:

I was interested in the history of hedgeapples. I found some information on your site. Thanks. Jenny

No. 16
Name: Thomas Black
Location: Moweaqua, IL USA
Date: Wednesday, August 4, 1999 at 14:06:29
Comments:

For a page dedicated to Hedgeapples, you don't have any usefull information.Toxicity studies,Thermodynamic testingPropagating,KillingDisease resistant propertiesForestry informationin otherwords, you need more info my good man (er, fruit)Stay Green

No. 15
Name: john webster
Location: chesterton , inDate: Monday, July 26, 1999 at 18:17:40
Comments:

No. 14
Name: EarthLady
Location: Tucson, AZDate: Sunday, July 25, 1999 at 00:28:04
Comments:

I found two small trees in a local park and didn't have a clue what the 'brainy' looking green fruit was! After my father (who was raised in TX) suggested I look for 'horse apples' online I was led to your site. You learn something everyday. ;) Thanks for the site!

No. 13
Name:Thomas Compter
Location: Elgin, OK USA
Date: Thursday, July 22, 1999 at 17:54:03
Comments:

All I'd really like to know is, is there anything USEFUL you can do with a hedgeapple (the fruit)? All they seem to be good for is dulling the blades on my lawnmower. _________ | homas

No. 12
Name: Gary Woodall
Location: Calumet City, IL USA
Date: Wednesday, July 21, 1999 at 22:01:57
Comments:

Nice site. I am a fan of the hedge also. I have made three stringed instruments from hedge, two guitars and a mandolin. As I have discovered, osage is one of the most attractive woods when finished in clear nitrocelulose in the world. It has accoustic qualities that rivals rosewood and surpasses it is most reguards. If any are interested I could share a .jpg of my instruments. I would eventually like to construct a sailboat from hedge because of the superior resistance to fungus/rot. Any input in this respect is sought and welcome. Thanks

No. 11
Name: JULES CUTTER
Location: KANSAS CITY,Date: Sunday, July 18, 1999 at 14:16:36
Comments:

THE LARGEST LIVING NON TYPICAL OSAGE ORANGE TREE IS AT FT. HARROD ST. PARK IN HARRODSBURG, KY. IT'S REALLY A MAGNIFICENT TREE!

No. 10
Name:Big Daddy Mike
Location: Topeka, KS not sure
Date: Friday, July 16, 1999 at 14:26:10
Comments:

Can you eat hedgeapples?

No. 9
Name: marty kreis
Location: Bedford, TX
Date: Monday, July 12, 1999 at 00:04:44
Comments:

I TAPED OSAGE TREE TODAY THAT WAS 14FEET 9 INCHES AROUND.
DO YOU KNOW OF ANY BIGGER TREES?

No. 8
Name: Sandia Schley
Location: Hemet, CA USA
Date: Monday, June 14, 1999 at 20:41:40
Comments:

How does one propagate a hedgeapple? I have a little windy hillside I'd like to grow a hedge/windbreak on, and want to get some plants/seedes/cuttings...Any ideas? please reply to me @ lost-echo@bigfoot.com - thanks!! Sandia

No. 7
Name: Mike Dresher
Location: Canton, KS USA
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 1999 at 10:00:31
Comments:

Dear Mr. Hedgeapple, Do you mind if I call you Hedge for short. Great Site! One of my favorite pasttimes is to juggle hedgeapples. The only drawback is after awhile, as any hedgeapple enthusiast will know,\the white nectar of the hedgeapple become quite messy and sticky on yourhands. Nonetheless what an experience to juggle your favorite non ediblefruit. Could you tell me if juggling hedgeapples could get me into theHedgeapple games. I am working on getting some sponsors and diligentlytraining.

No. 6
Name: Scott Smith
Location: St Paul, KS Outinthe
Date: Friday, May 21, 1999 at 12:31:50
Comments:

Dear Mr. H.A. aka O.O.Im interested in your seasons. More specific your migratory season.There seems to be about 4,000 of your cousins on my domian, and imkinda of wondering when they will kindly get their wrinkly green asses out of there. They must be biblical, because one begat 2, and then2 begat 4, and after a whole lot of begatting my place looks likea natural brush pile that lays green eggs.The other season im interested in is HedgeApple hunting season. It has been rumor that after a extremely slow day of hunting, people resort to shooting them out of trees. If you are really good & have a automatic shotgun, you may attempt to shoot one out of a tree and then hit it again before it hits the ground.This feat is hard enough as it is, but then compound it withalcohol influence(because one must have been drinking to resort toshooting hedgeapples) and impair reactions, it is twice as hard.Hope i dont incur the rath of Mr. Hedgeapple.Scott

No. 5
Name: Eddie Volmer
Location: Pleasant Hill, Mo USA
Date: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 at 22:01:38
Comments:

The only thing I know about Hedgeapples is they really make a cows milk taste bad. As they eat them off the trees when they can reach them . I also like to throw them as far as I can. They say they also drive the crickets out of your house if you place them on a lid or paper on the floor.

No. 4
Name: Joe Gray
Location: Emporia, KS USA
Date: Tuesday, April 20, 1999 at 23:17:31
Comments:

Why hedgeapples?? Some kind of wierd fettish? Where did you get all the info on your hedgeapples? Sorry these are not real comments, after I saw the page all I had was questions.
Mr. Hedgeapple's response to the above guestbook entry:
Joe, the only weird fetish us Hedgeapples have is we associate with you humans. And Ditto back to you, after reading your entry all I had was QUESTIONS. How come you are such an expert at weird fetishes? Are you some kind of fetish expert or something? Or are you just a delusional Engineer who selected your major in college because you wanted to ride trains? Just look at your choice of employment, you must be judgmentally impaired. You did have one good question. I found all the Hedgeapple information on the internet.

No. 3
Name: Keith Smith
Location: Girard, KS USA
Date: Friday, April 9, 1999 at 16:29:22
Comments:

Great site, by the way, I was asked to forward this to you from a person called Bill Gates:
Dear Mr. Hedgeapple. We here at the "evil empire" are greatly offended that you choseto support a non-microsoft product in your name. I am at this time structuring a 12 figuredeal with mother nature to buy exclusive rights to the patent and marketing on your so called"fruit". Once the legalese is taken care of I will issue a cease and desist order to yoursite and then send the product to our R & D (editors note; making it a more non-user friendly)we are working with a code name as we speak called Microsoft Osage Orange or MSOO.Thank You (ed. note: as he pushes his glasses up)Bill.
Mr. Hedgeapple's response to the above guestbook entry:
"Bill, you Imperial highne ass, I am surprised that you would even attempt to take on the Hedgeapple.Com empire. You don't know what you are getting into and stay away from my fruit! How much did your measly Microsoft stock go up last year (~100% in US dollars). Well, the highly sought after Hedgeapple internet stock has gone up 400% (in Belarusian Dollars). If you would like to talk face to face, I would gladly accommodate you. I could put some white surgical tape on those glasses of yours, you Nerd!

No. 2
Name: George McAtee
Location: Topeka, KS USA
Date: Monday, April 5, 1999 at 20:15:44
Comments:

Finally!A site for all the hedgeapple fans!Hedgeapples area a disappearing species.Hedgerows are being bulldozed at the rate of several every few days or so.Save the Hedgeapples!Do you have T-shirts yet?
Didn't I hear your band (The Hedgeapples) at Woodstock?
How many rubles will a hedgeapple be worth on June 5, 1999?
How do I enter my team in the Hedgeapple games?
Do you have any good recipes?
What is the half-life of a hedgeapple?
What time is the best time of year to order my hedgeapple Xmas ornaments?
Where is the nearest hedgeapple-golf course?
Are there any hedgeapple bowling leagues nearby?
Which wine goes best with a hedgeapple?
On what holiday do you bob for hedgeapples?
How many colors do your hedgeapple earrings come in?
I've heard of Cockleburr college. Is there a Hedgeapple High School?
Did Ben Franklin really invent the hedgeapple?
...and then she said, "Is that a hedgeapple in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?"
Was it really a hedge-apple that fell on Isaac Newton's head?
Hedgeapple pie. Yum Yum!
Are hedgeapple shoes made by a hedgeapple cobbler?
Is there a hedgeapple support group?
Is the hedgeapple really the mascot of a Wall St.daytrader group?
Do hedgeapples really repel lawyers?
More questions later....Keep up the good work!
Mr. Hedgeapple's response to the above guestbook entry:
George Wayne, I am glad you share my inthusiasm about hedgeapples! All your questions were great and I prepared a FAQ with answers to your questions on the main page. Please check there. However I must admit, some of your questions has cause me to have some lingering doubts about your sincereity toward the Hedgeapple cause.

No. 1
Name:Gene Smith
Email:gesmith@hedgeapple.com
Location: Emporia, Ks USA
Date: Tuesday, March 30, 1999 at 22:17:48
Comments:

Hello Mr Hedgeapple. I feel honored to be the first one to sign your guestbook.

Name:

Location:

Date:

Comments: