Three years ago we bought a house with a very overgrown orchard in back. We put off pruning until this year but have decided it must be tackled now. The problem is there are grape vines that are very old and produce well, but they are up in the tops of the Apple trees. From the ground they soar up about 20 feet before branching with no sign of nubs or small branches towards the base. I am afraid that if we just prune back close to the base they will not send out growth.The eldery people who used to own this orchard had at one time had them trained to a fence at the base of the trees, how do we get them under control without killing them when we prune out the tops of the apple trees? Pleae help.
They would be expected to come back if pruned back to main stems. Do not mow off (top) the apple trees because, same as with topping of other mature trees this is destructive to them. Instead choose individual weak or badly placed entire branches and prune those out, leaving the rest of the tree in place. Brutally topped old apple trees with serious decay and decline issues resulting from the topping are very common here. The main branches of some of these look like dugout canoes when viewed from above. Choose either to have a mature orchard of large picturesque specimens or remove these and start over with new trees on fully dwarfing rootstocks, selecting varieties recommended for your area.
