Thorny tree

[vette-kid]

Just moved to a new house and would like to ID this tree. It has thorns aND the leaves look similar to an orange tree in the yard. No fruit on this and the flair is a little different so I'm not sure.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Those thorns remind me of a trifoliate orange.

From the wiki:

The trifoliate orange, Citrus trifoliata or Poncirus trifoliata, is a member of the family Rutaceae in the Citrus genus. Whether the species should be considered to belong to its own genus, Poncirus or included in the genus Citrus is debated.

 

[alp]

This citrus tree certainly needs feeding, @vette-kid ! A bit of pine needles or coffee grind will make it smile a bit, perhaps.

Hope you're happy in your new place!

 

[vette-kid]

Thanks, doesn't look like it's an edible fruit, at least not tasty! Hopefully it gives us some and I'll try it out.

I do have some citrus fertilizer I'll try on it. New place is great, still getting settled, painting and whatnot. Previous owner had horrible taste in color!

 

[SeniorCitizen]

That tree is Osage Orange - AKA - Hedge Apple - Bodark - when well dried to below 15 percent moisture it makes excellent fireplace wood. I recommend removing it as soon as possible.

 

[Silentrunning]

As SrCitizen said cut it down. No matter how much effort and money you put in it, you will not get acceptable fruit. These usually get started by people trying to grow citrus from seed. If you are into grilling meats this wood is great. When used for smoking it tenderizes even the toughest cut of meat and adds a great flavor. I have found it is most effective when it is still green.

 

[vette-kid]

Interesting. We have another orange tree that gives edible fruit (I've tried it). Do I need this one to ensure it gets pollinated? I don't know much about oranges. If it's not needed I would consider taking it down to make room for something else (bananas! )

 

[Chuck]

My opinion is that it is not Osage Orange. Osage Orange grows as a single trunk tree. I think this is a Sour Orange rootstock because of the large thorns. What happened much earlier is that the grafted part of the tree died and the rootstock lived. Chop it down.
http://forestry.sfasu.edu/faculty/s.../photographs/78-maclura-pomifera-osage-orange

 

[vette-kid]

Ok, before I go cutting it down can someone confirm if I need two orange trees for one to fruit? I have one on the other side of the yard that has fruit right now and I don't want to cut this one down if it's needed to pomade the good one. From what I can tell the answer is no, but I want to confirm that. I can try to get a picture of the other tree up in a bit.

 

[Chuck]

Ok, before I go cutting it down can someone confirm if I need two orange trees for one to fruit? I have one on the other side of the yard that has fruit right now and I don't want to cut this one down if it's needed to pomade the good one. From what I can tell the answer is no, but I want to confirm that. I can try to get a picture of the other tree up in a bit.

Orange trees are self fertile. If it is a mandarin/satsuma type a second tree is not needed but another tree will add to productivity.

 

[vette-kid]

 

[alp]

If you have another citrus tree, why not do some grafting?

 

[vette-kid]

If you have another citrus tree, why not do some grafting?

Hm, we'll I suppose because I have no idea how!

 

[Chuck]

Hm, we'll I suppose because I have no idea how!

An excellent thought from @alp. Just google how to graft an orange tree. There is more info than you can shake a thorny stick at.

 

[vette-kid]

An excellent thought from @alp. Just google how to graft an orange tree. There is more info than you can shake a thorny stick at.

I don't know, I have lots of thorny sticks!