I am very intrigued by this comment by @alan :
The most common mistake with such trees is the removal of water sprouts lower on the trunk.
Does this imply that I should keep waterspouts that are at a good height on the trunk and weight or spread them to develop a limb?
I have read as much as I can but I am new to this and I don’t want to do wrong by my old (new to me) trees. They are very tall! I am also not sure exactly what they all are: apple, pear, asian pear, or a combination.
I am the author of this thread: 40 sad and neglected apple/pear/asian pear trees if you want to see my trees!