[Mum2mj]

Hi I've 2 sorry looking apple trees in my garden. The second is covered in ivy and I haven't got to that one yet.
The first had a fair few apples last year which were riddled from codling moth but where it's been very badly pruned there's a fair bit of die back on branches as well as the trunk. Just wondering if it's going to be worth my while looking after it or if it's doomed? The area used to be an orchard and there are apple trees in every garden and I've got a young apple tree I can replace it with if needed. Pics attached thanks

[Mum2mj]

Pic

[Trikidiki]

Getting rid of the old tree will not, per se, get rid of the codling moth so that will still be a problem for your new tree. Do you know what variety the old tree is, if it was from an old orchard is it something that might be worth keeping to graft onto a new rootstock.

If it isn't in 'imminent collapse mode' I would keep it until your new tree is established then consider removing it. It is probably home to an abundance of wildlife. You will need to do something about the codling moth though.

It might be interesting to collect apples from your neighbours and have them identified.

[Mum2mj]

There are lots of different varieties but I don't know what they are. A lot of the gardens still have 2 trees.  They fruit at different times and don't all look the same such is the extent of my apple knowledge 
What's the best way to rid of moths at this time of year, traps? Also this is a tip bearing tree (I think) but is very congested. I've cut out most of the dead branches but not sure how much I can do now, the branches are very long . How would I go about getting them identified? Thankyou

[3759allen]

hard to see from the pictures what the whole tree looks like, maybe worth taking every bit of dead wood out and seeing if and how much new growth there is stating in the near future.

if the tree is healthy enough and producing buds it may be worth thinking about grafting onto your tree, you could make it into a family tree so you have many different varieties on one tree.

i've only just started to look into grafting, i've tried grafting onto a few branches that are coming over my fence from next door (their garden is pretty much waste land that they don't look at or touch but do have a row of cookers on the boundary).

it looks like an easy thing but i think it takes some practice to get the hang of grafting. there is plenty of info though a google search.

[Trikidiki]

Pheremone traps may help reduce populations but unlikely to be a complete cure. You can use nematodes in the Autumn but it is more useful in orchards because it won't deal with your neighbours trees and so you will still get moths from them. You can also spray after the fruit has set with Provado Ultra Fruit & Vegetable Bug Killer but please be careful you don't spray when bees are active, one of my hives has just died from what looks like pesticide poisoning.

It might be a bit of drive for you but West Dean Gardens near Chichester have an Apple Day in October and I think they have people there to identify your apples, they certainly have displays of old varieties which you might be able to compare yours with. There are lots of Apple Days around which do the same. Our village Garden Club got a couple of guys in to do an identification day last Autumn.  Do an internet search for Apple Days around August time.

It's a little late to be pruning now as the sap is rising, you really want to do it when it is fully dormant. Don't take too much off in one go or you will end up with a hedgehog of 'water shoots'. Basic idea is to remove any dead or diseased branches first, cut out anything crossing or going back into the centre second, then reduce the leaders by about 2/3 (may be better to do about 1/2 if you are taking out a lot of other wood), then you can cut back more the following year.

[Trikidiki]

Don't dismiss an old tree. The original Bramley Apple tree is still going strong after 200 years.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1176179/Apple-source-Original-Bramley-tree-celebrates-200th-birthday.html

In the picture of the tree the base of the tree is behind the lady, it collapsed then regrew upright where the two trunks are.

[Flowertot]

Brogdale identify apples if you send examples to them in the autumn. Have a look here http://www.brogdalecollections.org/fruit-identification/

[Mum2mj]

What a nice article and thanks for the tips and where to get ID's. Here's a picture it's not the best I'm afraid

[Trikidiki]

I bet if you have got kids (I assume so with your moniker and the swing in the photo) that they will have memories of that apple tree in the future much more so than any new tree you would replace it with.

Having said that, at £20 to identify your apples at Brogdales, it might be cheaper to buy a new tree than have any apples identified. I would check around local gardening clubs, agricultural colleges etc for an Apple Day in the Autumn rather than spend that sort of money for an ID.

I haven't been to West Dean Gardens Apple Day but have been to their Chilli Festival twice and it was well worth it. They have a brilliant kitchen garden that is worth the entry cost alone.

[Mum2mj]

Yes 3 little monkeys
My inlaws have a holiday caravan in the witterings so I'll look it up and may well swing by west dean gardens. The chilli festival sounds fun 

[3759allen]

it looks quite tall and untrained. i'm definitely no expert but would say it would be very hard if not impossible to train into a nice shape.

if you can get to the branches you could try grafting, as it's so large it should be big enough to make a family tree. i've tried grafting for the first time this year (not sure if i've been successful yet) i used bark grafting to graft 2 scions onto one branch.

this is a link that i found most useful, but there are plenty if you google it.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/ho/ho39/ho39.pdf