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Old Apple tree will not fruit
Jacquie Allen2
Posts: 1
Any advice would be much appreciated. I love my garden but lack experience and really need help please. I have an old Apple tree (don't know how old but I'd say very) we moved to our house 12 years ago and had fantastic crop every year until the tree blew down in strong winds about 5 yrs ago ( the tree was already steaked with heavy duty iron strap and steak, so there may have been potential issues previously). When it blew over the whole tree came out of the ground roots and all although some of the roots were partially covered by soil. I loved the tree so much I called a tree surgeon to see if it could be saved. He said the cost of pulling it back up and getting it back in the ground would be immense and it might not work. But he was able to cut off the main trunk / branch of the tree and give it a very very heavy prune and make another branch become the main trunk and we covered over the roots with lots of soil. He said it would take a couple of years to recover. It has recovered really well but 5 years on and no apples. It does have lots of thin tall branches shooting upwards do probably needs pruning but I don't know where to start. Sorry for the long story. Any advice?
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Posts
But if it grows a good apple you can get it grafted onto a modern rootstock, professionally. Either go to an Apple Day in the Autumn or consult Brogdale where they keep the National Collection. Do you know the variety?
Pansyface, is right, the tree may have been too hard pruned and has been cut back to the rootstock. When it eventually fruits again you will be able to tell by what apples it produces.
5 years is quite a short time for a tree to recover from a traumatic occurrence; give it time.
If you replace the tree, some trees have to be staked throughout their lives if they are on certain rootstocks. Especially the dwarfing ones.
Sorry Jacquie, but I think you're wasting your time, money and passion on this tree. Nothing lives forever and this one does sound as if it would be better used as firewood. Have fun replacing it with two or three new trees.
Sad to say, but I'm with Joe on this one. Had something very similar happen with a lovely cherry tree in my garden. I cut it back to an upward pointing branch and it regrew quite well and flowered, but it was never going to rejoice the eye in the same way again. So last autumn it got the chop, and when the weather obliges I'll get the remains of the root out. Sometimes it is the only way - which is more important, this tree or the garden as a whole?