An Old Apple Tree

I've moved into a cabin on a farm, with an old apple tree in the backyard. It's been neglected for decades. There are suckers all over it, and the top branches are hanging low from previous heavy harvests. I'd like to remove the suckers, and give it a little better life. Can you tell me- do I need to cover the sucker cuttings with any kind of sealant? Is there anything else I can do for it? Thanks muchly.

I would consult the County Extension folks first for suggestions. This is what my friends did:

I have dear friends who had lived in the city working for many years; when they retired, they bought an old Homestead in Michigan. It had a very old orchard; the trees had not been cared for for a long time. They consulted the university and were advised that the apple trees were quite rare and to cut out the the many branches so that ..."if you flung a cat by the tail thru the trees they would not be caught in the branches." And, "to use a baseball bat to beat the trunks of the trees." This would cause new growth." My friends are along in years now as well as myself.
Gary/Louisville

HAH!..Now that is a great description, Gary! :>)

There was an article several yrs back about rejuvenating old apple trees (OG or Mother Earth. I'm leaning towards OG in my memory tho.)

From what I remember it said to cut back half the limbs, as well as crossbacks (my term) (limbs that grow back towards the middle of the tree) the first year. Next year cut back again by a third.

I think the idea was to not cut it so drastically the first time. I would have to do a search to find the article, or perhaps you could.

Thank you! There's a couple of good ideas in there. I'll avoid sending one of my four cats on an airborne journey through the trees, and instead trim like mad, saving some for next year. Thanks! I'm wondering about the baseball bat, however. But I might, indeed.

A baseball bat may be a little hard on the hands as well as the tree, But the idea is ancient. In the first part of the last century, older apple trees were routinely beaten with one inch by about 4 - 5 foot green hickory sticks. The concept was was to stimulate sap flow. Seems to work like a charm. Jerry baker later picked up on the idea and recomended using a rubber hose, probably easier on the hands. Not much give to an aluminum baseball bat.

Just reading this I can feel the vibrations in the bat, when it hits an immovable object, that just drive you nuts! shudder! shudder!

Yikes! Well lets see, I have an old hose I can use... I think I could stand that better than a bat, (which I don't have, and what on earth would I do with it, besides beat up trees). By the way, is it ok to trim the suckers and put tar on them? Or nothing?

The tree people say they need nothing on them, just don't cut past the collar - where it starts to get wider before it gets to the branch. Does that make sense?

I use nothing to cover the cuts with. I also prune a little here and there during the growing season. I tend to be a bold pruner and would probably do your tree in a year. Once the tree is in shape if you wait till the water spouts are two inches high or so you can rub them off with your hand instead of letting them grow on you don't have as much to prune next spring the tree conserves strength and the water spouts tend to not come back to that spot.

Gotcha, Eweed! Will do, although it will take me more than a year (just because I'm like that, taking time). See my seperate post about the woodpecker problems this poor beast has. Thanks, Kooger, its good news that I don't hafta tar the suckers, although I'm a little unsure of what you meant by the rest. But I took at least 30 suckers off so far, and I'd swear the tree was thanking me!