American Persimmon
Diospyros virginiana Medium tree Zones 4–9 35–60 ft
Shares floodplain forests, sandy barrens, old fields and edges in the wild.
A native we do not grow
Osage-orange
Maclura pomifera. Medium tree, 20 to 70 feet, zones 4 to 9; full sun or part shade; dry, average or wet ground.
We do not grow Osage-orange, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.
At a glance
| Other names | Hedge apple, horse apple, bois d'arc, bodark, bowwood, monkey brains |
|---|---|
| Form | Medium tree |
| Height, feet | 20 to 70 |
| Spread, feet | Up to 60 |
| Zones | 4 to 9 |
| Sun | Full sun or part shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry, average or wet ground |
| Growth | Medium |
| Leaves | Deciduous |
| Traits | Fall color, wildlife value, hedge or screen, street tree, erosion control |
| Flowers | April to June |
| Fruit | Aggregate fruit, September to October |
| First crop | About 10 years (good crops nearly every year) |
| Pollination | Osage-orange has male and female trees. Silvics of North America says a female with no male nearby may still bear fruit that holds no seed, while the Morton Arboretum and the Missouri Botanical Garden say she bears fruit only with a male nearby. |
| Transplanting | The Morton Arboretum's page on Osage-orange marks it as one that transplants well. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Ground | Floodplain forests, sandy barrens, old fields and edges |
| Native in | 3 states |
Osage-orange is native in 3 states: Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America and NatureServe Explorer. The USDA PLANTS Database also records it growing wild beyond that range in Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, where it is naturalized, not native.
What our tools say
How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil How far from a house, wires and a septic field What grows with it in the wild and in a yard When to plant it where you live When it flowers and fruits, month by month How to sow its seed, with dates for your place How many to plant for a crop of seed Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes How old one is, from its trunk How a big one scores against the champion trees
For the same ground, we grow
These trees we grow share the most of Osage-orange's natural communities in the wild, by the companion species tool's rules.
Downy Hawthorn
Crataegus mollis Small tree Zones 3–8 20–40 ft
Shares floodplain forests, sandy barrens, old fields and edges in the wild.
Slippery Elm
Ulmus rubra Medium tree Zones 3–9 40–70 ft
Shares floodplain forests, old fields and edges in the wild.
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum Medium tree Zones 4–9 30–60 ft
Shares sandy barrens, old fields and edges in the wild.
Western Soapberry
Sapindus saponaria var. drummondii Medium tree Zones 5–9 20–50 ft
Shares floodplain forests, old fields and edges in the wild.
Winged Elm
Ulmus alata Medium tree Zones 6–9 40–60 ft
Shares floodplain forests, old fields and edges in the wild.
Read from
Its figures come from Silvics of North America, NC State Extension, the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Morton Arboretum, the Wildflower Center, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual and the USDA PLANTS Database.