"simy1" wrote in message
ups.com...

Ook wrote:
Some of you have seen my big old apple tree before, and posted a lot of
good

A few years the previous owner of my property butchered this poor tree.
I'm
trying to clean up the mess, and I'm not sure how to handle a few of the
branches. I'm thinking I should remove the vertical suckers, but I'm not
sure how to shape what is left. Should I also remove the smaller fork?
Both
had their ends cut off, and you can see the mess of small branches trying
to
grow out of the stub. Any suggestions?


Just cut the weakest 1/3 of the suckers every year, and eventually try
to give it a little shape. Do not touch the big wood.


I've heard that before, and it's good advice. What about the new long
horozontal branches? Just let them grow for now? Some of them are 8-10 feet
long, and stick way out. The story I heard was that the previous owner got
tired of the way it sprawled, and hacked off all of the main branches
(ack!). I don't have a problem with sprawl, I don't really care how big it
gets and how far out it sprawls, just so long as the tree is happy and
healthy.