I can tell by the cracks running the length of the trunk that the tree is toast. That tree is a danger in a residential neighborhood. It is one strong storm from falling on something or somebody.
If you need to keep something for sentimental reasons, you can plant a rootstock & graft it with your Fuji wood. It would still be the same tree, but with different roots.
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I work with apple trees almost every working day, 100ās of them, and wouldnāt make the absolute statements that you are making here. A hazard tree- that little thing? Two strong eye screws and some heavy wire between the two trunks would reduce any possible danger if falling would really hurt anything. Or a couple of heavy crutches- or just heavy pruning on the outer sides. Not that Iād have a picnic during a storm under the thing
That really isnāt a lot of heart rot for an apple tree- like I said, Iāve seen much much more on trees 10 times that size that have survived hurricane winds. Most old apple trees that fall over do so from the roots, IME. Keep in mind that the center died without breaking off in a storm.
You donāt kill a tree because you think itās going to die in my book.
If the tree is a Fuji, it isnāt really a rare variety and itās probably not as good as some of the newer sports. Does get up the sugar in CA, thatās for sure. .
Dennis is also supplying advice that counters what Iāve been taught about dealing with rot- if the tree cannot wall it off it will die anyway in my opinion.
I suggest that those that like to give advice on tree care read Harrisās āArboricultureā published by Prentiss-Hall. You can acquire a late edition for a good price and the newest edition probably doesnāt have more than a few pages different than whatās in the first. I have the first and third editions and they are almost identical.
IMO all tree lovers should have this book on their shelf. When I was going to hort-school I read every book on arboriculture available in English then- about 29 years ago. It was head and shoulders above any others. If anyone has more recent academic experience in the subject and knows of a better book, please let me know.
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If that tree falls and causes damage, will insurance cover it? Now that he knows the tree is not healthy, the insurance company can blame him for it. Maybe he can explain to the insurance company that a guy from the internet said it would be ok, without even inspecting the tree.
I have seen healthy trees ripped apart by a thunderstorm. You should be careful giving people advice that could result in injury or death.
Thanks folks - I just ordered a heavy duty tree tie to tie those two trunks together, just in case.
Just asking your insurance company could raise your rate more than the damage it could do.
Just so we donāt forget which tree we are talking about here it is again:
My advice is informed by 30 years of professional experience with apple trees and 55 years of work with plants and soil including pruning the first apples trees in my life over 50 years ago. I was also an instructor years ago and for several years at the NY Botanical Gardens School of Horticulture.
And yet I still canāt say that tree āis a gonerā or that itās likely to blow over in the next heavy storm. I canāt say the opposite either. All I can say is that if it was my tree I wouldnāt be that worried about the damage it might do even if it does blow over. If I was worried about it striking my house I would run a cable from high in the trunk that threatens it connected to either a deep anchor in the ground or something solid like a strong tree. That is, if I wasnāt pretty sure that just running one between the two wouldnāt be adequate, and from the photo it looks like it probably would be. Judging from the photo it looks like you could pretty easily prune it back to the big upright away from the house.
Iām curious about what your background is that makes you so confident about your own ability to predict the treeās future. That would be hard to do even if you were standing next to it and had all the information possible about any disease issues. Am I arguing with a colleague?
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