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old apple tree
mommar
Posts: 1
in Fruit & veg
We have inherited a garden with an apple tree which I would like to keep. The problem is the tree has grown very tall and most of the fruit is high up and difficult to reach. I am not particularly bothered about whether tree is eater or not as would use fruit to jams and pies etc. How can we encourage growth lower down the tree?
0
Posts
Or get one of these http://www.primrose.co.uk/-p-84274.html?adtype=pla&kwd=&showPLA=true&gclid=CLClqJK34scCFcUcGwodKfYPFQ
Other types are available
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
you could cut out 1/3 of the tree taking most of it from the top growth,
I've just recently done this with an old (i think its about 40-50 years old) apple tree in my grandfathers garden (he's 90 now and just finally admitted that he can't prune it properly anymore!) so I took the top out. I left five big side branches and a few smaller side branches in case any of the old branches start to look a bit sick in the next few years and made sure I cut any water shoots that appeared in that area during the summer.
the crop was reduced this year, I did a summer prune on the existing branches and I'm hoping for a good crop next year.
I have 4 old apple trees in my garden 2 Bramleys 1 Laxton superb and 1 Ellisons orange, they must be about 65 years old, my dad planted them. About 10 years ago we cut them down by half and I thought we had killed them because there were no new shoots until a year had passed, then after about 3 years they started to fruit and now they are back to the original height, but I don't mind because they act as a screen to neighbouring propertys ,they have character, the blossom in spring is beautiful and the fruit just falls on the ground if its windy, easy to gather.