Osage Orange Hedge

Question

I am wanting to grow and Osage Orange hedge around my property in NC, but there is not a lot of information on how to prune them. I know they are known for being “Horse high, bull strong, and pig tight” but all of the older examples I have found are full-grown trees that are 4-5 feet apart that a pig or a bull could easily go through!

My question is this: If I prune the hedge every year and pleach the thorny branches together, will the Osage Orange trees eventually grow so much that a large gap between the bottom “wire” and ground exists? Or will it stay “pig tight” so long as it is pruned each year?

I am afraid of doing all the work for this awesome hedge only to find out that in 20 years the hedge will grow a gap at the bottom that lets all manner of predators through. If you could recommend a book or resource to learn more about this it would also be appreciated.

Answer 1

This article may help you grow a nice dense osage orange hedge:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/osage-orange/pruning-osage-orange-trees.htm

I’ve also read that farmers used to plant lower growing, thorny plants along with osage oranges to fill in the gaps.