You can safely take 1/3 of the tree at a time, no more. I would also wait
until the tree is dormant this winter. I would pick one side to remove, and
take some of it off the first time, and the rest the next winter.

Dwayne (in Kansas)

"Mook" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have an old apple tree in my garden which was there when we arrived.
It looks as though it has been neglected for 10+ years. It does crop
but the apples tend to be small - probably because there are too many
of them. The trunk kind of V's and my question is ... if I remove one
of the V's (about half the tree) would this kill the tree?

It would actually give the tree a better shape if I did this and I'm
hoping the apples (cookers) it produces would be bigger because there
would be less of them... any advice?