I agree. If the tree is truly large and there is dead wood then it is best to remove
the tree. Clean up the area very well. Then find a very very good apple tree
supplier that is SPECIFIC for your area and plant apples on dwarfing rootstock. It
is very important to get the right rootstock for your area. Forget Starks and other
"magazine" suppliers. in the same area you could have a whole orchard of different
varieties that ripen at different times.

1. you will need to stake dwarfed apples cause the size of the apples are normal and
will pull the tree over.

2. you will need to be on a spray schedule anyway. but do look for rust and other
resistant varieties if you dont have a favorite variety.

Ingrid

On Sun, 15 Jun 2008 14:24:46 -0500, zxcvbob wrote:
"Organically grown" apples is a nice concept, but it doesn't really work
unless you are just making cider. There's something called "Integrated
Pest Management" that can greatly reduce the amount of pesticides that
you use. It mostly involves good orchard hygiene and continual
monitoring for pests so you spray at precisely the right time instead of
spraying prophylactically.

Bob