Old Apple Trees

[HUNT 24/7]

I have come across an old apple tree patch with about 20 or 30 trees. It has apples on it now a little smaller than a baseball, they taste pretty good & the deer are into them.
I was just wondering if anyone has any idea how to go about starting to prune these trees where they haven't been pruned in ages.
I've looked online but can only find info on pruning small apple orchard trees, nothing on pruning old un-pruned trees.

[VTer]

Do it in late winter (march) and make it a multi-year project so you don't stress the trees. 1st step should be clearing out competing trees that affect the apple trees getting the sun and thinning out all the sucker shoots, dead limbs and cross over branches. Good luck. Sounds like you'll be busy with 30 trees. Oh, landowner permission should be the first step.

[sweeney3]

Get ahold of your county's extension service.  They either will have or can get information on pruning as it relates to wildlife habitat and food.  This may involve calling/emailing a human being in the office rather than just browsing their website, as most of the website material will be geared more towards a traditional orchard/hobby fruit situation.  

Check that.  You are in Canada aren't you?  I have no idea.  Do you all have something like the Extension Service or agricultural universities?  Sorry, but I just don't know.    :confused:

[jhg]

Prune any suckers. If the trees have been left unattended these can actually be quite large and sometimes can appear to be the main stem(s). Anyway, the idea is to remove these and allow the energy the tree has to go to the limbs that produce fruit.
Prune close to the bark, it stimulates it to heal the scar. Any limbs that touch each other should be addressed as well as any dead wood. Start with the suckers and then take a step back and start on the other problem areas. A healthy tree will have a fairly open understory as you stand under it and a fully formed crown without crowding.
Old trees respond really well to attention. Use  care and you should have a stand that will continue for many years. We used to do t his a lot in Maine- old homesteads and abandoned farms.

Joshua

[kill shot]

also fertilize the trees. it wouldn't hurt to spray them, but they're just for the critters.

[HUNT 24/7]

Originally posted by jhg:
Prune any suckers. Joshua

And what might a sucker be??? I don't know anything about tree pruning

[Bill Carlsen]

I just went to Google and did a search on "pruning wild apple trees" and got 184,000 hits. You should find all the info you need there along with pics, diagrams, etc. It sounds like a real find so get the landowners permission and an extendable pruning saw.  As was already suggested if you do nothing else but clear away other tree and cut out the dead wood you are well on the way.

[JustinNC]

Consider grafting some of those suckers....chances are theyre an old heirloom variety and you just dont see many old heirloom varieties anymore....a chance to potentially save a real gem here. While most "modern" varieties satisfy todays wants and needs, some of those old varieties that have been let go and no reproduced sure do make great pies and turnovers and whatnot!

[jhg]

A sucker is a secondary parasitic whip that generally grows straight up from a limb somewhere along it, rather than at its end, which is where the limb adds its own length, or a limbs own smaller limbs which grow more naturally and in every direction.
An apple tree will have several of these every year and while small in the beginning I have seen them grow to the size of a mans arm and eight foot long. They can really sap a trees energy for making fruit.

You will know a sucker because it grows right up out of the limbs center area and and is "taking over" anything around it for the sun.

[bornagainbowhunter]

Justin, your killing me...

[BobCo 1965]

First as mentioned get rid of any competing trees. Sunlight is very important. You can do this now. Then I would get some survey tape and mark any dead wood on the tree. Remove all of the dead wood and suckers while the tree is dormant (I wait till Feb-March).

Then for following year do some research on pruning these old trees. I have been in a similar situation and have gotten the trees under control over a few years. I have also had fruitless trees start producing. I would also highly suggest getting a soil sample tested before doing any fertilizing. I believe it costs around $10 or so and they will make recommendations for you. Personally, I had to use lime and a 10-10-10 fertilizer, but not until I had the trees under control.

[JustinNC]

Originally posted by bornagainbowhunter:
Justin, your killing me...

Why am I killin ya?

[Jim Jackson]

Justin is correct on suckers, same as with tomato plants.  Cut the sucker sprouts and you'll get bigger fruit.

How big are the trees?  You'll want to be careful not to overprune, especially not on trees that haven't had anything done for years.

Also, there is a good market for applewood for smoking meat.  Keep some of what you prune out for yourself and put the rest up for sale.  Nothing tastes as good as applewood smoked steaks & burgers!

[PAPA BEAR]

those old trees have the best apples.i remember going to my family homestead and seeing apple trees that were ancient with small yellowish apples that were sooooooo good i'd eat'em til my gut hurt.fond memories of days gone forever.

[KentuckyTJ]

Don't do anything to them now except get a tree stand or ground blind set up. You want to prune them after the fruit is all gone. Plus pruning stimulates new growth and you don't want to do that before your cold season.

[HUNT 24/7]

Originally posted by A. Kinslow:
Also, there is a good market for applewood for smoking meat.  Keep some of what you prune out for yourself and put the rest up for sale.  Nothing tastes as good as applewood smoked steaks & burgers!

The trees are BIG, probably 15' tall & very full, the trunks at the base are probably 8 to 10" maybe.

Funny you mention a smoker cause I have my own, can't wait to smoke some deer meat haha