wrote:

There is some type of apple tree in the back yard (small yellow
apples), and it is very bushy around the bottom, it looks like there
are 10 or so 'tree trunks'. There are also branches growing completely
sideways all over, tyring to reach out for sunlight I assume. Should I
be cutting all of these off? I'd like to have the area next to the
tree clear of branches up to 6-7 foot or so, so you can walk all the
way around it. There also seems to be some kind of bush growing right
next to it, or maybe thats still part of the tree. Should I rip all
this out? Pictures he
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/2710/smapple1wz2.jpg
http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/8798/smapple2vv7.jpg

I wonder if I should cut most of the tree trunks out and leave the 2-4
'best' ones?


First I'd want to know if the apples taste good. Doesn't matter if they
are small or buggy, you can deal with that later when the tree is healthy.

I'd try to trim it to one trunk. Not sure if you can get there in one
year; also you'd want to make sure you saved the original trunk if it's
a grafted tree. (Or just save the biggest healthiest trunk and plan on
grafting or budding it if its fruit is lousy.)

The mostly horizontal branches are likely the good ones.

Bob