New Osage Orange Trees Are Gamechangers

Osage Orange replaced with thornless, fruitless varieties

Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) has been declawed and neutered (USDA Zones 5-9). A member of the mulberry family (Moraceae), this tough prairie tree species is native to south Central states. The medium-sized 35-40 foot tree grows fast @ 2 ½ to 3 feet per year. It is also called Bois D’Arc (pronounced “bow-dark”).

‘Wichita’ and ‘White Shield’ are fruitless and thornless (male) selections. Both cultivars develop into attractive landscape trees with deep green shiny foliage that turns a beautiful fall pale to golden yellow in fall. ‘Wichita’ grows slightly taller than ‘White Shield’, and its branching is slightly more upright.  ‘White Shield’ forms a rounded canopy, averaging 35 feet in height and spread.  Mostly inconspicuous tiny green flower clusters appear in late spring.

Osage orange, aka "hedge apple" is a dioecious species. Male trees make effective landscape shade trees. Female trees are generally not recommended for landscape use because their fruits pose a considerable litter problem. Mature tree bark is deeply fissured, with an orange-brown inner wood peeking through. In the early years, pruning helps to develop a well-branched tree.

Hedge apples, i.e. large 4-6 inch wide yellowish green fruit, weigh 2 to 3 pounds each. Fruits on female trees fall from the tree in October and are a huge maintenance headache. Female trees need a male tree pollinator in order to produce fruit.

Fierce ½- inch long thorns, hidden within the dense branches, can do lots of harm, even puncture a vehicle tire. The tree’s wood is hard and does not split easily.

Osage orange is easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. The tree grows almost anywhere, in poor infertile, acid or alkaline soils, and dry or wet fields. It also tolerates drought, heat, cold and wind. Disease and pest problems are practically non-existent. Its foliage is tolerant of urban air pollutants.

Both cultivars are good choices planted on large residential or commercial properties, city parks, and golf courses. Also, plant under high power lines or utilize as a deciduous windbreak.

Kentucky Coffeetree

Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus) is a large native tree found in 18 states, from New York west to Nebraska and from central Minnesota south to Oklahoma (zones 4 through 7). It averages a mature height between 60- 70 feet (some greater than 90 feet) with a spread of 35-50 feet. This tap-rooted tree establishes within 2-3 years, with an annual growth rate averaging 12-15 inches, about the same as ginkgo or white oak.

Kentucky coffeetree

Spring leaf out occurs in mid- to late spring. Recessed vegetative buds push forth as multi-pinnate compound leaves. A single leaf may measure 2 to 3 feet across, producing between 70 and 100 leaflets. Fragrant olive-white flower panicles appear in late May in clusters of 8 to 12 inches long by 3 to 4 inches wide.

In autumn its lime-yellow to golden brown compound leaves drop to become a leaf raker’s nightmare. During the winter months, the totally naked upright branches take on a stark appearance. K-coffeetree may be single or multi-trunked.

K-coffeetree grows in a wide variety of soil types and tolerates a poorly drained wet sites. No significant disease or insect pests mar the lush green tropical-like summer foliage. Bark is distinctively charcoal gray and shaggy, a trait more pronounced as the tree ages.

Spring pea-like flowers are dioecious, bearing either male or female flowers. Female trees bear clusters of broad bean pods measuring 5 -10 inches long and 1 ½ - 2 inches wide on the tips of branches. Flowers and pods are inconspicuous, mostly hidden within the dense foliage through late summer.

'Espresso' is a male cultivar with no seed pods to rake up. In colonial America the beans were harvested and a crude coffee extract was brewed, no threat to Starbucks. The leaves and bean seeds are reportedly toxic to man and grazing cattle.

K-coffeetree is rarely sold in garden centers, but is available from on-line nurseries. Notoriously difficult to transplant, young 2-inch caliper nursery-grown trees move easily.

Katsura Tree

'Pendula' Katsura tree

Hooray! In American gardens Katsura tree (Cercidiphyllum  japonicum) is finally becoming more planted as a fine landscape tree. There are a number of great varieties to choose. This medium to large growing tree (height depending on cultivar) commands four-seasons appeal. Rated as a medium-sized 40-60 foot pyramidal, this long-lived majestic specimen may top off at 75 feet in height before its first 100 years. 

Its beautiful heart-shaped soft green summer foliage transforms to purple and gold shades in autumn. After the leaves fall they reveal its lovely symmetrical branching and scaly/shaggy bark. Often, the fall air holds a cinnamon scent reminiscent of cotton candy or a sugar-cookie.

Katsura tree is indigenous to Japan and China where it can grow an incredible 100 feet tall (USDA hardiness zones 4-8). The species is dioecious, e.g. separate male and female trees. The tiny flowers are mostly inconspicuous and small pods with numerous winged seeds are dispersed by female trees in late fall. Katsura tree is also not invasive.

Select Cultivars: some 20 varieties are listed, but I mention only 4 here:

'Pendulum' – lovely weeping form 15 to 25 feet tall and 20 to 25 feet wide. Other weeping forms also lumped as 'Pendula'.

‘Morioka Weeping’ - another weeping form, 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide, with more upright growing branches when young and  large leaves.  

‘Red Fox’ (‘Rotfuchs’) – 30-foot pyramidal tree; new spring reddish purple foliage, turns dark bronze-green in summer and orange-bronze fall color.

‘Claim Jumper’ - a relatively new gold-leaved variety that grows 25-30 feet (8-10 m) and 20 feet wide. Leaves emerge with a pink blush and unfurl to soft golden-yellow. Gold leaf color fades away by late summer.

Katsura tree is easily grown in a moist well-drained soil and in full sun to part-shade. Growth rate is equal to a sugar or red maples. Newly planted 1-2 year old trees are particularly prone to leaf scorch. During its first year or two after planting, katsura is susceptible to long dry spells and will need irrigation in periods of no significant rainfall.

Katsura are rarely troubled by serious pests or disease problems. Katsura tree and cultivars are sold at full-service garden centers, but smart gardeners are likely to quickly buy up the inventory. Rare or new cultivars, like some that are listed here, are sold by on-line specialty nurseries.