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!

I appreciate the input. The first tree to go will probably be the smaller of the two walnuts, which had a bark injury from sun hitting the trunk in winter when it was quite young, and has always been retarded in growth. I planted two in order to assure pollination; I know the squirrels like this, but of course we have never once gotten a mature walnut from either tree, as the squirrels like them so well. The second to go will undoubtedly be the pine to the west side of our house. It has grown frighteningly tall, and is too close to the house for comfort. Limbing it up further would make a bare trunk fall on the roof if it ever fell. Another consideration, though, is an oak tree owned by a neighbor which is just beyond, between the sidewalk and the street. It has several dead branches. After a similar oak fell down in another part of our neighborhood, a friend told me that when the developments around here were built, a great many pin oaks were planted. Apparently this is not a good area for them, and as they age their roots tend to rot, and they fall. The prevailing wind would tend to make it fall toward our house. I sometimes think it might be better to have a pine in place to block the pin oak if that ever happens; they are a very heavy tree. I think I will definitely work toward getting a qualified tree surgeon to at least limb up many of the trees, and proceed further with his or her recommendations.

Alternative would be to leave it and remove the one directly above it on the trunk. The way the tree is now, all the branches come out of the trunk at the same place, which can be problematic--a weak crotch. So putting a little weight at another point on the trunk instead might be beneficial.

the best thing to do.. might be to talk with the fruit nuts in the fruit forum ... mine and dads has done the same thing for decades.. between us ... when it all boils down.. one has to go a bit zen ... and understand the tree is the one doing this... so it should be able to cope .. and what is there for us to do??? ... beside perhaps prune out any breakage.. if and when it happens.. and i really dont recall such ... the worse is hitting one of those rocks at speed on a riding lawn mower, with your big whompin head ... thats usually when i trim that branch.. lol ... i hope you know how to ripen them.. they fall off the tree rock hard also ... dad used to put them on the picnic table in shade for a week or two.. and they would start to yellow and soften ... i figure .. guess... they are a true rootceller fruit ... being stored green.. and being available to eat.. later in the season or winter.. when other things are long gone ... just like they used to do with apples ... but i never researched it ... mostly because i didnt have a hole in the ground called a root celler ... grandma had a pear in the yard... rather exciting time of year.. when these rocks started falling from 60 feet up ... lol .. no clue if they were bartlett ... ken