Old Apple Trees

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The cabin I purchased came with 6 or more apple trees. Anything I should be doing to these to try to get a better crop or revive them a little?

Apple Tree 1 - this one looks like it is doing okay.


Not sure if you can tell the variety by the leaf?

 

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Apple Tree #2

 

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Apple Tree #3

 

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Apple Tree #4 - this one is in a little rougher shape.

 

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Apple Tree #5

 

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Last one that I took pictures of - Apple Tree #6

 

[MA VT Flatlander]

For starters cut off all the dead wood.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Other than removing dead wood wait until the trees are dormant. Tree 1 I would remove the second leader and proceed from there. Trees 2 and 3 should be singled down to a central trunk. You might have shoots originating from the rootstock. Tree 4 I would remove. 5 and 6 will be easier to tell once the leaves dropped.

 

[chummer]

I would guess number 2 froze out and either sprouted from the root stock or below the snow line. I have had this happen to a few trees. I am running a test on one crab apple. It is growing two different trees, a bunch of shoots below and a bunch above the graft. I am going to let it turn into a giant shrub and see what happens. I can tell it is two different trees because shoots below the graft have green leaves and above have burgundy leaves. Tree #4 is a perfect candidate to let the shoots go and see which one turns dominate. Tree 5 is from woodpeckers. All my old trees have those holes all the way around.

 

[chummer]

NH you have a link for everything. Those are it. I have boat loads of them.

 

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I agree with what TC said. On #4 are those root sprouts near the base? If they are you could let them come up and graft onto them.

I'm trying to figure out in my mind why they got rotted out so? Seem to have plenty of light.

Yes, those are root sprouts coming up near the base. I will have to look into grafting. That would be another new experience.

I'm not sure why they are so rotted out. Plan on asking the old owners when I run into them next. The only thing I could come up with is that in winter they plow the snow to get into the yard and that tree would be the edge of the driveway. It about the right height to be buried in a snow bank.

 

[buckvelvet]

I'm pretty sure those holes are from Yellow belly sap suckers. They are persistent. http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/howtos/ht_sap/sap.htm

OMG after all these years with watching westerns i never knew that saying translated to something legit, HAHA, made me laugh.

 

[chummer]

I had one of these show up at my camp when we first bought it. He would hit the non functioning satellite dish for an hour every morning at daylight. Sounded like guns going off. Then one bright sunny day he flew into the picture window with aloud smack. I went outside thinking somebody had thrown a rock. Nope. He was belly up on the deck. His eyes were flickering a little so I left him. Went back in an hour and he was still bad off so I flipped him upright. He sat there for another couple hours but, eventually flew off. Back at it the next morning so I took down the dish. He was hitting a white birch tree and a few older apple trees too. I haven't seen him around much any more.

I had to shoot one a couple years ago. He would go at the metal roof all day long. It would sound like a machine gun going off. Hated to do it but he just wouldn't stop.

 

[chummer]

I mean, I shot near him. Scared him so bad he didn't come back.

 

[CrazyEd]

Hard to tell from the pics but maybe get more sun? Some look like they might have some shade?

 

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Hard to tell from the pics but maybe get more sun? Some look like they might have some shade?

With the exception of #1 and #6, the trees are in full sun most of the day. #1 is on the west side of the property and behind a big pine tree so it only get sun for a portion of the day. #6 is tucked up towards the north side of the property and have large pine trees on 3 side that shade it out for a good portion of the day.