[poppie]

last year my oh cut down an apple tree in our garden,it now has 2-3ft shoots coming from the base.would these eventually turn into another tree? or should i just prune them off?

[gillie]

How low was the tree cut down? can you still see the graft?

My guess is that these are suckers from the root stock and you will not get a decent apple tree from them. 

I would prune them off and consider killing the stump.

Gillie

[SnooziSuzi]

I cut down a 10-15 year old crab apple a couple of years ago, but only to about 4' high so that I could use the stump as a stable pole for a bird table. 

THe following year it did send up some shoots from the trunk, but as it wasn't receiving any photosynthesis from the now removed canopy it soon died off and hasn't resprouted in the last year.

If the shoots look untidy then you can cut them off; either way it's likely the tree is just trying to use it's last resources to re-grow but won't have enough to come back to life fully.

[poppie]

ours is approx 3ft tall,but when oh cut it down the apples were always very poor,but it is very near to 30ft conifers(not my planting scheme).
hence probably the poor show of apples.
didnt know if i could encourage the new growth and perhaps end up with useful.

[SnooziSuzi]

hmmmm,  poor show of apples could also be if you don't have another tree nearby to cross pollinate with it.

lots of commercially bought varieties need another apple tree somewhere nearby so that the bees can cross pollinate, but they have to be in the same class of when the tree flowers, otherwise you will get a very hit-and-miss harvest

[poppie]

ooh blimey,had no idea apples were so complicated.we also have a cooker in the garden,not sure of breeding.the one oh cut down was an eater.
but said tree had some apples that went to eating stage,yet loads just dropped off half way,the rest went tingy brown spots then dropped off,what was left the wasps or the birds sorted.

[Johndeb]

Wow you seem to have the lot.  If your tree is near to other apple trees (2-3 varieties within 200 metres or so) they should all pollinate one another.

Conifers won't help much oh cut them down by mistake instead would be oh good.

About half of your baby apples will fall off in June (it is called the june drop) and is quite natural.  The brown spots sound like scab - if you are not sure take a look at http://www.ashridgetrees.co.uk/Apple-Scab where there is a good picture and instructions on how to keep it out of your apple trees.

Good luck