Everyone; Sorry for not responding sooner. Only the last post was emailed to me. I have many Wisteria 'Aunt Dee' seeds, many 'Bloody Butcher' corn seeds (older but still viable last spring) and some Honeylocust seeds. Let me know if you're interested. Thanks! Tony

Tony, I have a couple of OO seedlings sown this spring. I can trade you some if you like. Let's talk if you are interested. Marc

Hedge around here grows well in the muck land used for growing mint. Wet area shouldn't bother it a lot. Muck land does dry up in late summer most years, allowing harvest of the mint. Also grows well on the drier rolling grounds, even in heavy dirt with clay. Hedge here is used more for land protection, not fencing. Planted for preventing erosion, dryout of soil, dirt blowing away. Some of those hedges must be from the Depression era plantings. I am seeing a lot of them being cut to allow larger machinery use, bigger fields. They are not maintained for animals, like they would have been back when planted. My grandfather had hedges, harvested it regularly. Used it, sold it. It was a crop for the livestock farmer, who would have regular fence upkeep. However, grandpa said hedge was about the hardest wood around after black walnut. He didn't seem to have post rot problems of other farmers. He did have a lot of gravel type soil in the hilly pasture areas. He pointed out his big corner post, was about 60 years old, still solid. Used daily as the gate was on the other side. If I planted hedge, I would be out there to trim and thin the seedlings, set up a clean line of growth. Keep after it as saplings developed. Uncared for, hedge is a terrible mess. Tangled, fallen limbs, out growth of messy crooked trunks. Takes over a large space trying to get to the sunshine. You don't get straight up growth, orderly line of trunks for harvest, best use of the planting without attention. Removal around here is with bulldozers, cutting is very hard work with such dense wood, most don't bother. Most old hedges are about 20-30ft tall. Can depend on the ground they grow in. Then pile burns for days. I have also heard of spines on the trees, but can't remember if that is true. I don't know about the fruit, never had any in a pasture for my horses. I wouldn't offer it to them, just to be safe. I have not heard of any problems with horses chewing their wood, unlike the walnuts which will founder them if even a tiny bit is eaten. On the rosebushes, I would save my money. Ask around, someone would probably let you dig their roses out!! The hedge roses grow easily here, very quickly. Farmers would laugh hysterically at the thought of paying for them when we fight so hard to remove them!! Perhaps the roses you plan to use are a special variety, the multi-flora around here are a nusiance. Nice habitat for the animals and birds, hard on the farmer. Very aggressive growers, non-native pushing out native shrubs. You might want to check about pest plants, trees, shrubs, in your area before deciding on what to grow. Honeysuckle is a terrible pest here, but OO or hedge, doesn't seem to travel, get very pesty. Maybe seeds are too big to move around far!! Swamp roses, I picture as the wild, pink single layer flower, blooms in spring. Not as aggressive, smaller bush too. Might be different in your area. Native shrub planting will always benefit the area, attract insects and wildlife. Just not very manicured, if that will bother you. Often natives provide great benefits to the local area, so I always try to "go native" when planting.

If any site would show what to do with them regarding crafts, Pinterest.com will. Start thinking outside the box in how they could be used, even if they don't retain that "look". Glad you asked the question. I've always wondered, too. You'll need to try any number of word combinations. http://www.folkfibers.com/blogs/news/7250546-natural-dyes-osage-orange http://wendyfe.wordpress.com/tag/dyeing-with-osage-orange/ http://www.pinterest.com/pin/32510428531309773/ http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t9533-osage-orange-whip-1-year