Sentimental apple tree in urgent need of something!

Hello everyone!
I've recently joined the forum and I'm looking for some specific advice. (I've checked old listings so I hope I'm not repeating a topic).

Many years ago, approx 30, my Nan and I planted a Cox's Orange Pippin pip. We've watched it grow over the years, with equal amounts of enthusiasm and disappointment. It's never really amounted to much, and certainly never blossomed.

We've been advised to do various things with it, the most recent of which was to chop it down to a few feet and wait for the regrowth. However, it's now looking very sad indeed - just a rather skinny trunk with a few twigs poking off of it.

My Nan is now very poorly and in a home, and you might say it's one of her last wishes for me to move the tree from her old garden into mine. I want to give it the best possible chance of growing some leaves even, let alone fruit, so if there's anyone out there that can offer some advice, my Nan and I would be forever grateful.

 

At 30 years this tree should be well rooted out. The chances of moving such a tree and one that sounds as though it is not very well...I would have thought remote. I have only moved one established tree, that had been in less than 5 years and we dug round and then lifted up the root ball in one big mass......it was all done using a JCB and the mass of soil probably weighed getting on a ton. It was then carefully planted and lots of water given the first summer. That was a young vigorous tree in the best of health.
The other way is to graft the wood on to a new root stock which you can obtain, but then you are not moving the tree, just taking a shoot.
The tree will not be a Cox, it is just a seedling from a Cox and 9/10 they are not worth bothering with.
If you move the tree you will be ripping it out, no matter how careful you try. It would then linger on and gradually die off.
Sorry to be so pessimistic but those are you options.

 

Seana,welcome to GC.One other thing you could try is planting another tree near to your Cox to aid pollination,say either a Worcester Permain,or Granny Smith.It would take a few years for the new tree which you would probably buy as a One year old Maiden.It does seem a shame to give up after waiting so long.Another tree would certainly help with pollination...
A good book to buy is 'The Fruit Expert' by Dr D G Hessayon,which is good for any beginners.

Good Luck

 

For my two pennyworth - I would wait til spring, and then find the strongest new growth you can, and graft onto a vigorous root stock - a garden centre could advise you of the right one to use.

Cos its not really the tree itself, its the fact that your Gran and you grew it from seed. Whilst it would be lovely if it flowered and fruited, that would be the icing on the cake. Grafting it onto a vigoruous root stock may help.

If you've got a successful graft, then lifting the tree if you must, is less of a risk, as you've still got a bit of it growing.

 

Spot on Fran! An established tree is a nightmare to move so either take cuttings or graft on to vigerous rootstock to preseve it's genes and history then you can have a go at moving the tree. But, and it's huge but, your chances of success are not high and the amount of work involved is daunting without mechanical equipment.

 

I cannot see the point of planting a pollinater until the tree flowers. The varieties mentioned may not flower at the same time. This tree is not a Cox but a hybrid from a Cox so we don't know what pollination group it will go into. If you are going to graft it then I would go for a dwarfing root stock. A vigorous rootstock would probably take longer to flower and fruit than a dwarfing rootstock. Dwarfing rootstocks will put out a few flowers after a couple of years or so.

 

I get the feeling seana that your saying that this tree has to move as your Nan is having to give up her house and garden.
If that is the case then you may as well have a go at moving it, it sounds like its struggled a bit over the years.
You dont say how big it is, how high and trunk diameter?
After 30 yrs I would suspect it to be pretty big. If the tops not grown much maybe the root system is small also, and could possibly move OK.
If you've got a couple of years, one thing you could try is root pruning.
It involves cutting off all the roots on one side of the tree in a semi circle, then leaving it for a year, next year cut off all the roots on the other side, before digging it out the next year.
It is a complicated process though and may well not work well on an apple, especially one thats not growing that well.

[ 18. January 2007, 08:28 PM: Message edited by: pete ]

 

Thank you all so much for your advice. The tree really isn't very big. I think our big misake was about 15 years ago we moved it when she moved into Sheltered accomodation. It's never really been the same since. There's no top on it as such as we were advised to cut it down and start again, so it's now about 4ft high, with no top/leaves and the trunk diameter is 4". I know all the signs are saying it's had it, but I'm so reluctant to give up on it. Finally yes I do have to move it again, she needs to give up her flat in the next 6 weeks or so, so I either leave it behind :-( or I try to bring it to my house and give it a new lease of life, if indeed that's even possible! Sounds like the grafting option could be a good compromise?