Lop off the top... that is pretty much what i thought i'd have to do to the big one at least. Never thought or read about the hinge straightening method before although i did wonder if something of the sort could be done. I even got an email from Oikos tree crops about their mulch mats and wondered if i should get a couple. I think i might. What is the best time to have a go at the big tree? It is any time of year or right about now is good? I'd like to keep these trees fairly small, i had thought they were dwarfs before i knew that both standard and dwarf were most always grafted. Growing up, all i had ever seen of apple trees growing on family land were seed grown except the one 3-in-one my grandfather had cobbled together himself many, many years ago. The big one is almost too tall to get the spray onto all the way to the top, so i won't miss losing any height. Also, is Bonide Fruit Tree Spray a good spray for these trees? I didn't know what exactly what to look for when i decided i needed to do something. I knew the trees had problems, but i didn't know where to begin looking them up. So i got what i hope is an effective broad-spectrum remedy. Is there something better i can get and something i can use right off? I first used the Bonide just as the leaves were unfurling and again when the flowers were all pink but not opened. The petals are falling, but not fast and they are turning brownish orange. There are even some buds that haven't opened yet... is that normal or a sign of an issue? I'm supposed to use the Bonide again when the petals fall but where it seems to be taking an extended time doing so, i'm wondering if the starting fruit will get attacked by something in the mean time. I tried finding a pictoral guide to pests & diseases of apples, but i didn't find anything i could use. I bought "The Pruning Book" by Lee Reich the other day, it won't arrive for a while in the mail. I have looked at other orchard books but i don't want to end up with less than helpful information... books are not cheap in any media. I was looking at the trees this morning and i was thinking... would it be stupid to just prune off anything that isn't flowering? Like the obvious suckers just shooting straight up. At least on the small one. I'd need a ladder anyway! Thanks for putting up with the rambling!

Well finally found a store in the area that had the 30 & 40 "h inch steel eartanchors rods in stock.I Bought some 3/16 " steel wire cable and clamps.Decided the T-post probably weren't the best idea and would be a major pain if I ever had to remove them.I thought I would be able to winch the tree back up in place using my 4 wheeler & winch but was too much weight for the little Honda foreman 450 I used my tractor bucket hook and a tow strap around the base of the tree and slowly backed up little by little until I didn't feel comfortable going any further in fear of snapping the tree off at the base. I sunk one of the 40 " earth anchor by hand with a piece of steel rod through the hole in the top and was wore out and back was aching......I only used a 30 " on the other corner and was much easier going in :). I moved the tractor forward enough to take the pressure off the tow strap and the one of the cables pulled loose through the cable clamps.I only used two per end,I added another cable clamp and tightened them down and tried again and it held. I didn't want to push my luck and thought I'd wait until I harvested the apples next month and then maybe without the added weight,I'd try to winch it a little bit more in the vertical vertical position.

While I agree that it is not an ideal situation, I have done it many times with success. By mid June, even trees that have been in cold storage will most likely be starting to break bud. These buds will be yellow/white in color. I put the trees in a barrel of water to cover the roots, with the tops in the shade. I cut an inch or less off the ends of each root for a fresh cut before putting them in the water. I leave them there for a day. I water them in well when I plant, and I build a moat of soil around the edge of the former hole so that the water goes down. Then I just keep a close eye on them, usually filling up the moat every other day depending on the weather. It won't be long and those yellow buds will turn green and start growing. As for the rest of your plan, it sounds good to me, but I think a 6' wide hole for a mail order fruit tree is overkill. I usually go about 6 inches wider all around than the roots. I use my foot for tamping. Be sure to plant a little high and at the correct depth on the graft. I usually don't stake. I put some window screen around the trunk to keep the critters away.

I know that you have T posts already, but maybe you would reconsider. About 15 years ago I set some short T posts in the ground to support some pomegranate trees. The trees grew crazy big and the T posts are dwarfed next to them and serve no useful purpose. I am unable to remove the T posts w/o tearing up roots, so they stay and remind me of the bad decision to use them. I had changed over to metal conduit and am very happy with it. I might start with 1/2" or 3/4" on small trees and can easily upgrade to thicker/taller/stronger when need be by sliding the next bigger size over the small one and drive it into the ground. If there would ever be a need to remove the conduit, it is removable w/o tearing up roots. Having a row of conduit-supported fruit trees can be easily united by driving the biggest/tallest posts to the same height and connecting them with appropriate length sections of 1/2" that has the last 8" or so of each end bent downward 90 degrees and squeezed flat in a vise. The flattened downward-pointing ends can slip downward into the larger upright conduit and thus one connector pipe connects 2 upright pipes. The upright pipes can be large enough to fit 2 downward flat ends: one flat pc. from the connector on the left and the other flat pc. from the connector on the right. I actually use the 3/16" cord tied to the conduit frame to tie some drooping branches higher or crooked branches straighter so they don't cross other branches, or to pull them apart so that they get more Sun light. Not pretty. Functional.