I have to respectfully disagree that only grafted trees produce apples that are good to eat. My family had an orchard here on the old farm for over 100 years and none of the trees were grafted and they all produced useful apples, with the eating types producing apples fit to eat, and on their own rootstock. A great many of the old folks, 100 years ago or more, did not use grafted apples. Many of those old apples were reproduced by root suckers and/or burr knot cuttings. It almost saddens me that this old knowledge is so lost. In salvaging some of the old trees here on the farm, I have reproduced them from root sucker cuttings and as those matured, on their own roots, they produce the same types of apples as the parent tree, and on their own roots, are edible, delicious in fact. I don't want to seem argumentative, but I do know that many old apple varieties can be grown successfully on their own roots (and were all over the eastern US) and produce nice, wonderful tasting apples. If the apple tree in question in the original post of this thread is from 100 years ago or so, the chances are good that it is on its own roots and that root suckers could produce the same type of tree. It is not 100% guaranteed, but there is a good chance. I do agree that I would not rely entirely on root or branch cutting to rescue the variety, and I did list the business that I would use for getting the apple grafted, but there is as much of a chance it is on its own roots as that it is grafted, if it is an old tree. For my part, I would experiment with both root suckers and getting some grafts made, and if there are burr knots, I would experiment with starting from those as well. If this is the last tree of a family heirloom, then I would make every effort to use every method available to rescue it. In the end, there is not just one "right" way to do things, and whatever method works for any individual is the right method for them. David88, if you try all methods and end up with more trees than you want, then spread them around! Preserving those old varieties is a wonderful thing to do, and what a wonderful way to honor your great uncle by making sure his legacy persists. Name it after him, if you don't have another name for it already.

Mike: I am not certain just what you are looking for in the way of helpful advice. Can you save the tree? I don't know, but if it is important to you it is worth a try. Surely, you can try to prune it down, and that might rejuvenate it, but pruning is a series of judgment calls that you make while you are up in the tree, and I can't do that from here. If the objective is renovation, it might be best to prune in the dormant season, which might encourage healthy new growth. Summer pruning tends to slow growth. If the tree is out of balance, removing wood from the heavy side would seem the sensible thing to do. Since your photo does not provide the perspective of the whole tree, I can't get a feel for just how large it is, but it appears you will have quite a job getting up there. Use a good, sharp pruning saw, preferably something like the Corona razor tooth saw, that you can carry easily while you move around the tree. On this tree, I would probably spread the pruning over two and possibly three dormant seasons. But you have to start somewhere. For what it's worth, I did some dormant top and thinning pruning to some 100 year old trees out in Western Maryland several years ago, and they came back strongly and resumed apple production. Diseases are a different issue, and if they are a problem you will have to identify them and figure out how to deal with them. If you are concerned that the tree might die and want to preserve the variety, take a few scions in the dormant season, store them in refrigeration, then try grafting to a new rootstock in spring. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Gina: Of course you should cut off the dead stick. Why would you leave it? And, yes, it bushed out because the tree had died, but that will not naturally and automatically produce a nice stem for grafting unless you select one from the many stems and encourage it to grow nice and straight, and stronger than it would be if you left the thing to grow into a big bush with multiple stems. All of the stems that comprise your bush originate at the rootstock, and you would graft to one of these after having cut it off to about 4 inches from the soil line. You do not graft to the roots themselves. Spring is probably the best time to graft in Wisconsin, but you would want to take a scion from the tree you wish to use for grafting purposes in the dormant period, then store it is moist refrigeration fully dormant until spring, when the selected rootstock stem begins to show signs of waking up. Does this help to clarify things for you? Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Google 'air-layering' for specifics on the method you are contemplating. Grafting is much more reliable than air-layering for all apple cultivars, as far as I know. Different cultivars have very different take-rates for rooting cuttings (and layering branches). Sounds like your cousin may not have done something right. I wonder why your brother-in-law wants to cut the tree down. You might want to consider contacting a local orchardist to see if you could get some help with grafting. I bet you could find someone that would be VERY HAPPY to help you save a threatened apple cultivar. Many would probably accept a scion for their own use as payment for their service. If you can't find someone locally, post a request on the Fruit and Orchards Forum.