The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Fruit => Topic started by: Paul Mack on September 30, 2011, 06:14:20 pm
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Hi,
I have just bought a late victorian house in Ayrshire that has an apple tree in the garden that didn't do very will this year, the previous owner said that she thought the tree could quite possibly be about 100 years old. I am not sure that the poor thing is in the best of health and would like some advice on whether a good prune would help? The wind this year hasn't helped and the leaves are quite brown and curled - so not sure if it might have something or other else wrong with it? I am not terribly advanced on looking after fruit trees but have studied the RHS Encyclopedia regarding apples but am none the wiser.
Help!
Paul
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I responded to you in Womble's thread. :)
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Here is a very old idea that used to be common place till about the 1950's . It was used to keep old orchards going by doing every third or fourth tree
If you are adventurous now or spring is the time to think of felling the tree about four feet off the ground if the bole is sound then cut off another foot to give you a nice clean top with a slight drainage slope .
Now graft in some four or five two foot long sicons at the cut bark , get them off three or four friends trees that they say are a decent apple .
Seal the grafts up and seal the top . In about four years time the grafts should be producing fruit .
I think you can actualy graft to as low as about 12 inches off the ground but the extra height of three feet is usefull to lift the new branches to a working height out the nettles etc. as quickly as nature allows.