Is my osage orange safe in a storm?
One of the most storm-resistant trees on this list: the wood is among the hardest and toughest in North America, around 2,620 lbf on the Janka scale, and it handles both wind and ice well. When one does fail it is a form problem, not a wood problem — old hedge trees cut back repeatedly over the years carry multiple codominant leaders that split under load.
What pruning can and can't prevent
Prune dormant and price the job for the thorns, not the height: stout spines on the twigs and lower branches make climbing and hand work genuinely hazardous, so this is lift work with proper PPE rather than a spurs-and-rope tree. Fresh cuts bleed a sticky white latex that gums up bars and chains, so expect slower cutting and more cleanup time than a tree this size would normally warrant.
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