Rough Day for my Wild Apples - Need Some Guidance

[Natty Bumppo]

Went for a walk this past weekend and found two of my wild apples toppled over by other trees that had fallen on them....I presume during that last Noreaster Stella that came through a few weeks ago.

The first one sits in a nice little wild apple grove (about 9 or 10) that sits quite near my two new food plots. The poplar came down on the truck and tipped it over into another apple. This one should be fine. I already sawed the polar off and will go back in when the snow melts and winch it back upright and then support it with ropes for a few years. I saved about a dozen trees like this after the 2008 ice storm. You can see my River's Edge uppercut in the big ash behind the apples.

This next tree I need some advice. As you can see, it's laying flat on the ground. It used to be a nice 25' healthy apple. Another damn poplar came down on it. Here's what I am thinking....I just don't know if it will work. This spring I am going to go in as early as I cam and just get dirt on the root ball....bury it will my FEL. I am then going to prune back the top heavily. I have circled in red two places where small branches are laying on the ground but then shoot up almost vertically. If I build up some dirt around these two locations, stake and prune the branches, can I get the branches to propagate roots at this point that will grow down? Not sure if apples will do this? This is all assuming the tree is still alive of course. It may not be.

 

[chickenlittle]

Why not cut the 2nd tree off at the Y and stand it back up? It can re-establish the roots and then it will push top growth.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Why not cut the 2nd tree off at the Y and stand it back up? It can re-establish the roots and then it will push top growth.

I'm up for anything. So, you're suggesting cutting off the larger of the two forks at the Y (the one I have circled in blue) and then standing it back up, supporting it, and hoping for the best? I like it. Never occurred to me. Thanks.

 

[greyphase]

Either way would probably work. Apple trees are tough. I've found apple trees in the wild that blew over and kept growing sending up new branches of the downed trunk.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Just looking at the 2 forks, wouldn't it make sense to cut off the smaller of the 2 forks - the bigger one seeming to be the dominant one of the two ?? Then maybe shorten the remaining one to re-balance for the root system and get new top growth to push ?? I think getting dirt to cover and bury the rootball is priority #1.

I never encountered this problem. I'm just going by what I've seen suggested by apple guys with more experience. I want to learn something from this thread, too. Guys like Chickenlittle, Maya, Turkey Creek, & Greyphase have been at growing apple trees for a while. Good luck with those trees, Natty. I hope you can save them.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Just looking at the 2 forks, wouldn't it make sense to cut off the smaller of the 2 forks - the bigger one seeming to be the dominant one of the two ?? Then maybe shorten the remaining one to re-balance for the root system and get new top growth to push ?? I think getting dirt to cover and bury the rootball is priority #1.

I never encountered this problem. I'm just going by what I've seen suggested by apple guys with more experience. I want to learn something from this thread, too. Guys like Chickenlittle, Maya, Turkey Creek, & Greyphase have been at growing apple trees for a while. Good luck with those trees, Natty. I hope you can save them.

I was thinking I lost too much of the root mass to support the crown of the larger branch. Also, supporting the tree once tipped back up might be easier with a shorter, less, top heavy tree. But maybe you're on to something. Leave the larger one, but prune it back quite a bit to be in balance with the root mass.

Thanks bowsnbucks.