What's the Biggest Thorn You Have Seen?

[forestkeepers]

Yep - that and what they call Bodock around here - super hard with yellow stinky wood.

Osage Orange, aka Hedge Apple? Hard as the blazes, and twisty as can be, runs afoul of our chipper feed wheels -- have to chunk it up small to feed it, no crushing it between the wheels. BTW, the females are the ones with the thorns, right?

 

[MasterBlaster]

One would think so!!!

 

[forestkeepers]

Never dealt with a Hawthorn before today (I think this was a Frosted Hawthorn). Somehow Honey Locust thorns are large enough to be avoided (like a Thorny Devil), where the Hawthorn thorns seemed more innocent and less conspicuous, they raked and scratched -- hidden under the leaves, waiting for the unsuspecting tree man.

 

[Stumpshot]

Honey Locust takes the prize

I raised the crown & did lower deadwood on this honey locust today. Some 24" to 30" thorns on this bad boy! Yowch!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Awww, those are the dull ones!

 

[Tree09]

One of the dumbest things i ever did was attempting (and succeeding) at feeding a bunch of honey locust trimmings in my c&d.....

 

[MasterBlaster]

Delegate!!!

 

[squisher]

Sucker thorns. It's cool how thorny trees 'thorn up' as a defence.

 

[SeanKroll]

One of the dumbest things i ever did was attempting (and succeeding) at feeding a bunch of honey locust trimmings in my c&d.....

Not using a pitchfork?


Double to triple the normal price, I'd hope, at least.

I once did a monkey puzzle tree for way too little money. Long time ago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Araucaria_araucana

 

[Tree09]

Family friend for decades, reduced price lol. I was bleeding before i got 15 feet off the ground the tree got beat up pretty bad in a storm, so i pruned it to remove the damage. Wounds heal, chalk it to experience.

 

[gf beranek]

Honey locust got to be the worst. Trimmed quite a few during my line clearance days. I removed the thorns on one trim to see if it would help the next time I trimmed it, but they all grew back. Not quite as bad as before, but still bad. Boy you got to move delicately.

 

[kevin bingham]

Osage orange and honey locusts have nothi g on a Canary Island date palm in my experience

 

[gf beranek]

I been poked by both. Never anything bad. Just luck, or being extremely careful. The latter I think is the key.

 

[kevin bingham]

 

[kevin bingham]

they are sharp as syringes carry an arthritis carrying bacteria. horrible

 

[Stumpshot]

We had one when I lived in Cali. Good thing climbing wasn't necessary to dress it. Mature height is 15-18 meters, but I assume that includes the palm fan spread, not trunk height.

 

[kevin bingham]

the ones I care for in Detroit are between 60 and 80 feet tall.

 

[SeanKroll]

I'm shocked they can take the cold is Detroit.

 

[treetx]

Sometimes with trees, cold tolerance is more a factor of how fast the temperature changes.

For example, there are old world cedars from the Himalayas that grow well in Detroit or Germany but freeze in Texas.

Many trees handle the cold well but do not handle 75 F one day and 25 F the next.


Thorns - down here it is honey locust, mesquite, and huisache!

 

[SeanKroll]

makes sense, thanks for that, Nate.

Eucs and palms freeze out here, periodically. Not overly popular. I can think of seeing about a dozen or two palms around. Took out a dead one 6 years ago or so.

 

[Bermy]

Ditto the canary date palms, I have a 3" thorn in a bottle the ER doc extrcated from my elbow...I am fortunate in that I don't seem to get the violent reaction that many do when pierced by canary date thorns.
My friend Holly got stuck in her index knuckle about five weeks ago, still battling infection even after iv antibiotics.

I get to play with hawthorn here in Tasmania...but I'll give you guys the prize for those honey locusts, that's just nasty!

 

[kevin bingham]

the detroit palms are enclosed in a large greenhouse. I will be removing the largest in the next couple years as it is going to blow through the roof. https://youtu.be/Xr_V-Tdvceo

 

[Bodean]

Mike told me about those Canaries..

I've see 2 inch thorns in those MoFo's...

Never move fast in a palm and always keep your eye protection on...

I've been pardoned many times...

The chemical rxn is awful....

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[kevin bingham]

the first year I did them, I got tore up. I didnt know what I was getting into. now I have the system down but I still end up getting stabbed at least once.

 

[Bermy]

I had a seedling Canary to clean around this summer, it was smothered in other shrubs and had accumulated dead fronds and crap...I went at that nasty thing with the pole saw I wasn't going to get any closer!...it doesn't end there, clearing them away and loading a truck is just as dangerous, everyone involved had a safety briefing