I would at least call an arborist to get an opinion.
Since a tree fell on my youngest son many years ago, I am edgy about old, tall, hollow trees.
Let up know what you decide to do, please.

Susan, I would take the tree down.

Because of that extensive hollow, it could possibly come crashing down on your lovely home in a snow/wind storm.

Carol

Carol, is that how you lost your son? I hope not, although there's certainly no "good" way.

Thanks, both of you. I guess I'll call the Extension Office on Monday and ask them to recommend someone. We've had an awful lot of rain here, and I've been expecting to hear the crack-crack-crack of a tree coming down on the property--but until I discovered the hollow today I wasn't expecting it to be that one. Now I'm nervous about the day of rain in tomorrow's forecast, including thunderstorms.

I second the idea of having an arborist take a look at it. Perhaps if some pruning were done to reduce the load on top it would improve the odds of it surviving a storm/strong wind.

Ron

I agree with Ron. I would consult and arborist, and the first question I would ask is if it could be pruned enough to save it.

DH and DS just spent three days cutting up a very large tree which fell earlier in the week, nearly hitting a neighbor's house. The tree was hollow throughout.

One of the things this neighbor did a couple years ago, was have the tree trimmed so the bulk of the weight was on the side farthest from his house. Which was smart, because otherwise it probably would've hit the house instead of shifting slightly.

When you get someone to look at your tree, maybe that's something that could be done to save it just a little longer?

Yes, that is what happened to our son.....a large, old and diseased tree in a California state park.

Oh, Carol, how awful. I'm so sorry.

I'd have it taken down sooner rather than later. Better safe than sorry.

Linda

Yes, take it down. Large trees are lovely, but large old decrepit trees can take out your house or kill you.

We've had to take out two red oak trees in the last year. It was sad, but they were dangerous. Better gone.

im a logger and without seeing it up close and personal, i would do what everyone else said, get an arborist, no sense in taking chances.

I would have it taken down. I had a very old large maple tree close to my house and during a strong wind and rainstorm last summer a huge limb broke off missing the house and completly blocking the road. Checking the rest of the tree I could see the rot in the trunk and could not wait to have that taken down as much as I like the tree.
It was always just beautiful in the fall.
Lois

Your apple tree is of the old fashioned type and is a grand old tree, but that hollow you described concerns me. The time it will most likely break down is during a wind storm, or when it laden with apples and wet leaves.

Apparently, this tree was never purned and allowed to grow naturally. This is not all bad, but now that the tree is of significant height, has a hollow trunk, and is ancient, spells trouble. If the tree were younger, it could be pruned to a lower height and with a more open canopy, but to do so now would severly stress the tree since it would essentially remove all the top wood. It may be possible to trim it back in stages over a number of years.

The purpose of purning and shaping an apple tree is to keep it from attaining large height, spread the top to let in sunlight to all the apple blossoms, and to make it easier to pick the fruit.

My grandson's best friend and neighbor was killed five years ago by a falling tree in a state park. I am a huge tree lover and married to a forester. I never cut trees down unless they are diseased. I cut two wooley adelgide infested hemlocks down this spring and planted white pines. I would get your state forester which is what my husband was as a young man in the former PA Dept of Forests and Waters , now DEP or DCNR. Maybe it can be pruned back. I have a real old house too -1840 -and I have two trees in either side which actually touch on the top of our three story house. One is a maple and one an Atlas Cedar.

What a beautiful gnarly old tree. But I can easily see why you're worried. One other thing to consider is the fact that when a tree starts to decline the roots might be weakening too. How many times have we seen entire trees, roots and all, fallen over in a storm? That happens all the time at our place in the PA. mountains. I'm always worried I'll find some huge hemlock on top of my house.

Apple wood makes great firewood and burns beautifully. So if you do have to remove it you might be able to negotiate a reasonable price. We just had 2 huge white pines and a Bradford pear removed from our home. The pear had a partially hollow crotch so every few years we had the tree cut back to remove any excess weight. We even considered cabling the tree but the arborist said it was hollow nearly down to the core. So we opted to have it removed. We paid $2100 which wasn't bad. They couldn't drop the trees so that meant having a climber go up and cut off individual branches. They used a pulley system so the the branches could be controlled while they lowered them to the ground. That price included grinding out the stumps too and hauling it all away.

Maybe an arborist could take some cuttings and you could try to grow a new tree or perhaps even graft it. Or maybe you could keep a nice slice and make a table top out of it. Does your son think he could take it down or is it leaning too much toward the house?

My advice would be to call an arborist. it appears to be tall but not that full, heavy with branches. There is a lot of light coming through.It may be experiencing die back that has gone on over the years. I hate to see a tree come down, am seeing the same thing in my own yard and not looking forward to the expense or losing that tree.

By all means get the opinion of a professional, but don't wait too long! Last spring we awoke to the scene you see in the middle pic. That oak tree was 150 years old, and we loved it. Thank goodness the side that fell was away from the house. We would have had major damage. It took two men to carry one log cut from the trunk. It made us sick to lose the tree because we built our house around it. However, we were so thankful we had no damage to the house. Good luck. I know how you feel.

This group was very helpful to me. You have to sign up on the site.

http://www.arboristsite.com/

Thanks for the input, everyone! I made a couple of calls today, and hope to get an in-person assessment very soon.

Meanwhile, I took Donna's advice and joined the Arborist Site. I posted basically the same message you see above, and so far I've gotten one response:

that's past its prime remove it

That certainly was succinct. :-) But it's probably all I need to hear.

and remember last august a tree fell on my car..i'm still having problems with repairs! it is sad but you can always have the kids help you plant a new one??

Yes, and I know just the tree, too! I spoke today to a man who does grafting. I told him that my other huge apple tree, a King, is just about the last of its kind around here, and I would love to have it grafted to create a new one. He told me we can do that next spring.

King apples are larger than usual, and so delicious. I love that tree!

My mother has an old apple tree with five varieties on it, and her favorite by far are the Kings. She said she can't ever find them at the store and that their season is very early and very short. They make great pies!! Good luck with your tree problem, alisande.