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Invasion of ?? in my really old apple tree

susiouxsusioux Posts: 4
in Problem solving
Hello,
I have recently moved and whilst weeding, I noticed that my really old apple tree is being invaded and eroding at the base of the trunk  and higher up the tree, they look like woodworm  holes...

Can I treat this and with what...as I would hate to lose it, it has so much life with birds...

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    edited July 2021
    Welcome to the forum  :)
    Is there any chance of a photo of the lower holes please ? 
  • susiouxsusioux Posts: 4
    Hello Anni,

    Please see attached.

    Susan
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2021
    It is indeed the home of some sort of beetle and those are the holes the larvae make to escape when they're turning into the adult form.  An old tree of any type will become home to many insects and fungi as it ages ... that's why you have so many birds in it ... they feed on the insects etc.  An old tree is a wonderful wildlife resource as it slowly ages.  

    I'd be happy to watch this next stage in its life, and at the same time I'd plant a young apple  tree elsewhere in the garden to replace it  :)

    https://ptes.org/campaigns/traditional-orchard-project/orchard-biodiversity/discover-your-orchard-wildlife/

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    I concur with @Dovefromabove :)
  • susiouxsusioux Posts: 4
    Thank you, and agree great for wildlife, but was hoping for a solution to save the tree and prevent the insects eating through the trunk so it's unstable...

    Yes to plant another tree is fine, but won't reach this maturity in my lifetime....
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited July 2021
    I used to live in a very rural village where the old cottages had very old fruit trees in the gardens ... some of them were propped up with wooden supports and lasted for years like that .. maybe a local carpenter could make something like that to help support it ... take the weight off its feet, so to speak ... and help it last longer.  Then you won't worry about it collapsing overnight.   :)

    Some of them had big bunches of misletoe growing in them too.  Fabulous  :)

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • susiouxsusioux Posts: 4
    Yes a great idea...thankyou..
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