I'm not educated in siviculture, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express. Used to get a day off from high school by volunteering for the US Forest Service Manchester VT. You pick up a lot of information working with these people. Also, my unofficial Grandfather (neighbor) worked for "The CCCs), then became a forester for USFS. He too was generous with knowledge. Among many questions I have no answers to is; Why do certain species not grow in certain areas. Vermont mountains aren't all particularly tall. Red & White Spruce grow plentiful on mountains, but are rare in valleys. As a teenager I tried to transplant White Spruce on my parent's lawn. After many attempts, one finally lived. It grew to a size it overpowered the house, I had to cut it. It seems the Osage Orange would survive our climate, but I'm not aware of any here.