Alan Holmes wrote:
"MG" wrote in message
...
Hi All

I have a n old apple tree with a nice shape and lovely fruit every
year. But it has aon old split that has become open and rotting
out
from the heart of it. Its obviously a very old wound but I'd hate
to
lose the tree, so was wondering if there is any 'filler' I could
apply to stop further rot. It faces upwards on a horizontal lower
main branch and as such fills with water and debris.

Also, The squirrels like this tree and clamber all over it and
strip
bark off which leads to dead branches. What to do here?

Catch the squirrels and kill them!

Sorry for the lateness of this post, but I'm just trying to catch
up!

I'd graft one or two replacements onto new stocks (Deacon's Nursery,
etc), as you are going to lose this tree sooner or later. I have seen
fillers used, but I don't know what they were or how long they staved
off the evil day.

If it would spoil the tree's looks -- and an old apple tree is among
the handsomest small trees you can have -- to cut the branch off, I
suspect you may just have to set a stout prop under the branch and
let nature take its course. You say that rot has already taken hold,
so I don't think even a coat of something waterproof like well grease
would help: I speculate that it could make matters worse by cutting
off the flow of air. (Where's Anton when we need him?)

Mike.