Anybody have access to Osage Orange fruits?

[piedmont]

Hi y'all,
I've gotten pretty well hooked on bowyery (in theory, if not yet in practice) since seeing an issue of PA in the grocery store a couple of months ago. The Bowyer's Bible Vol 1 is now on the way, and I have picked up a few tools and plan to get busy on my first bow in the next few weeks. Making bows from hand-harvested wood combines several interests of mine (wood-working, hunting, sustainable forestry utilizing under-appreciated species) so well that it really surprises me I hadn't gotten into this hobby/obsession sooner. My family's land is forested with loads of great trees for bow-making: hickory, hophornbeam, dogwood, beech, pecan, water oak, red oak, white oak, etc. and I can't wait to try them all out (how's that for ambition)?
So while researching bows, I naturally got interested in Osage Orange, and apparently it's pretty easy to propagate from seed or cuttings. I'd really like to start growing this tree (yes, I know it will be a while before any bows will come of it), but I don't know of any plants nearby. If any of you happen to see fruits laying around the next time you go to harvest trees, if you'd be willing to send them to me I will pay the shipping costs. Same goes for chinkapins, though this is a bad time of the year for them, since they germinate quickly in the fall.

[ricktrojanowski]

I have a few oranges, unfortunatly the homeowner wouldn't let me cut their trees.  Send me a p.m. with your address and I'll send  you a couple.

Rick

[piedmont]

Thanks, Rick. PM coming your way.

[richpierce]

I want to make a hophornbeam bow and a dogwood bow.  let me know if you want to swap staves for osage.  I think the osage orange fruits are long rotted this time of year in Missouri.  No sign of them on the ground.

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

just type in any seed store in google and most sell the seeds in a package of about 50 and their only $3 or $5, they are supercheep and will save you the money of shipping the apples.  i ordered some last feb. and planted them right away, mine germintaed in about 2 weeks and are about 8 inches tall. pretty slow growers from my experience.  good luck with it- Ryan

[piedmont]

Ryan,
Thanks for the advice. I couldn't find any that didn't charge another 5 or 6 bucks for shipping on top of the seed price, so I think getting the fruits (which have up to 200 seeds each) may still be the best option. Plus I'd like to clean them myself anyway.

Rich,
I'll probably take you up on that in a few months time. Remind me again after I finish my first bow and I'll send you some dogwood for sure. I've only found a few good-sized HHB trees on our land so I may not be able to trade much of it. I'll look around on other family members' land and see what I can find. I'm thinking of going with hickory on my first one.

[carpenter374]

osage orange around here grows very slowly. 20 growth rings or more for a 6 in log.

[Postman]

There's a Nursery in pennsylvania that sells bare root seedlings pretty cheap if ya want a head start instead of planting seeds. I imagine the seedlings are pretty hardy. 5 for 14 bucks... not a bad deal.....
http://www.musserforests.com/prod.asp?p=OSO