Hello,
I hope some one can help identify this tree, also give sugestion on what to do with it. When Larry and I bought this property he wanted to cut this tree down. It was winter and the tree looked like something out of a horror movie. Once it leafed out he agreed to leave it alone.
I will post pictures of the leaf and bark also.
The problem we are having is it is starting to pull out of the ground. You can see the little well house next to it in the picture. The well house is actually supporting it. We have filled in around the base with more dirt, but it didn't seem to help. The well house needs a new roof, but that can't be done without cutting the tree back. We have trimmed the tree at times, but it seems to make it grow faster and bigger. LOVE my tree and don't want to lose it. In the summer the temp drops 10 degrees when you walk under it.
Thank you in advance for all the help.
I think you have an Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) based on the image of the leaves.
If you could pull back and take a picture of the trunk where one could see the whole diameter (especially the oldest part of the tree), and then some pictures of the branches where one might see the thorns that are typical of this species.
Osage oranges are tough old birds. You could prune this severely in order to do the necessary work on adjacent structures. This species was commonly pruned to the ground and allowed to resprout with multiple dense stems in order to create hedgerows for livestock control. It is also a very rot resistant wood, useful for many applications where this trait is valuable.
The thorniness is usually what bothers people, and the big fruit on the female plants. It has very disease and insect resistant foliage that is glossy green as shown, and turns a beautiful golden yellow in the fall.
Here is a picture of the oldest trunk. There are 3 trunks which look like they came off of a tree that was cut to the ground. This trunk is approximatly 3' in diameter and forks about 10' up. The forked branches are twisted together and actually grow at a 90 degree angle toward the well house.
Here is a picture of the thorns. Thorns are only on the youngest branches. I try to keep them trimmed at the base of the tree. From what you said I must have a male tree because I have never seen any fruit.
I think you've summed it up well.
That's a handsome albeit prickly tree. They are tough and designed for your climate. As a male tree, it won't spread anywhere else.
Your predicament is preserving the quality of your tree while trying to conserve the integrity of your adjacent structure. I'd start slowly with the pruning, because you can always take off more (but you can't put it back).
I assume that albeit prickly is another name for osage orange? Also is there a good or bad time to prune this tree? And who would I contact that could tell me how old this tree is?
The property this tree is on has an interesting history and we have suspected that the well has been here since the civil war. The well is made of stacked stone and spring feed.
Yes, and a famous named male selection of Osage Orange!
Maclura pomifera Al B. Itpricklee™
You should be proud to have such an old handsome one...
Contact your local cooperative extension office, and/or a local certified arborist. Since you said it looked like it had been cut back, it may be hard to determine an exact age. If you have the $$ and interest, an arborist with the right implements could "core date" it for you.
I don't doubt that the tree could easily be as old as Civil War era. Osage Orange (also known as Hedge Apple) trees were used for livestock containment for a long time, until simpler less bulky barbed wire became common. I'd do everything I could to have your tree and well too.
