We bought an old farm with apple trees in its hedgerows. They always have apples on them but small and not very tasty. These trees are huge with trunks 24'' in dia. And branches that are big and vine covered. I've cut some of the vines off of some of them and I would like to prune them to see if we could get them back. Is it to late? I've seen some of the pruning liturature. But not for trees of this size. Any help would be helpful.
If the apples are lousy there is no point. Otherwise the best procedure is probably pruning out entire branches as these appear degenerate (twiggy, weak, unproductive) and not going over the whole tree like might be done where it new and small.
Hi, I' ve tackled this problem a couple of times.There are three things I would definitely do. 1. Remove any branches showing signs of disease. With old trees you can be pretty sure that there are some disease problems. Also, for this reason try to keep your pruning equipment clean/ sterile so you dont spread any problems to other branches. I wipe my tools with alcohol (methylated spirit) as I move from branch to branch. Also I would burn any diseased wood. 2. Remove any branches that are crossing and rubbing. 3. Try to open out the canopy to let air through and light in. Particularly try and open out the middle of the tree. I do agree with Ron, very often it really is not worth it in terms of apple crop, but many of these trees have real character and it would be a shame to lose them. Good Luck BrianO
Those old aplles trees could possibly be varieties that are old cultivars that are not very common anymore. In that case it might be worth saving them. I usually look at a period of over 3 to 5 years to restore the trees back to good production. Have a look at this website www.nafex.org And this is good info on renovating old apple trees http://www.fedcoseeds.com/forms/renovating.pdf Good Luck
The apples may also be crabapples, which were frequently planted as hedgerows. While they are not meant for fresh eating, or even piemaking, they make great jelly! And an odd wine... They are also fabulous for the local fauna as birds, deer, etc. feed on the fruits and seeds. I would prune the beejeebers out of them, topdress with stablings if you have them, and see what Mother Nature makes of all that.
