Can anything be done?

[Mark Bolam]

26 minutes ago, sime42 said:

Point 2 above is straight from a Tarmac Specialist's doorstep flyer

 

 

Shut up.

I need the work, alright?

[GarethM]

5 minutes ago, Mark Bolam said:

Shut up.

I need the work, alright?

Concreting or tree work?

[peds]

44 minutes ago, Stubby said:

Fill with some compost and put a couple of Daffodil bulbs in there . 

 

Helps deter nibbling pests 👍

 

Maybe go for wild garlic instead though, for a more permaculture forest garden feel... 

[Bunzena]

5 hours ago, peds said:

Have you got a zoomed-out picture for context? 

 

Apples are hardy bucks really, they'll do their best to just soldier on through all sorts of damage. Try and drain the hole as nepia suggests, but if the tree has sentimental value and you aren't looking for optimum yield from it, just let it do its own thing. 

Show a distance pic of the whole tree and its surroundings and there might be other suggestions for what you could do, but I wouldn't lose any sleep over it to be honest.

 

If you like the fruit it provides, start planning a replacement tree for when this one gives up the ghost... it's easy and fun to graft donor wood from your tree onto a rootstock, they make great presents for family members or friends of the original owner of the tree, that sort of thing.

 

 

Thanks Peds - more pictures attached.

 

Reassuring that Apples are tough!

 

 

[Bunzena]

6 hours ago, nepia said:

I'd say that the spreading rot would remain confined to the dead heartwood if allowed to continue and I've encountered apples entirely hollow from the ground up for 3m yet still thriving.  Presumably at some point the pocket would fill with water and remain full in which case the rot would slow due to reduced oxygen present at the wood/water interface.

But in your circumstances I'd drill a drainage hole at an upwards angle into the base of the rot pocket.  I did it some years ago with a Tulip tree at home and the union survived for another fifteen years or so until a storm did for it by using the twenty foot long regrowth as levers on it.

You will be aware of the difference in durability of apple and Tulip; steel vs butter!

The hole I drilled was 20mm in a 300mm stem (approx).

 

Thanks Nepia - drilling a hole to drain the water is a really great idea.  Thank you.

[Mick Dempsey]

@nepia why not just leave the water in there as it slows bacterial and fungal growth?

[nepia]

Yes, could do that Mick; a perfectly viable option on reflection.  I was probably thinking too much Tulip and not enough apple; you wouldn't get away with such a thing for long with a Tulip

[peds]

In that case, swap the daffodils for a few goldfish. 

[Mark Bolam]

Now we’re cookin’ Peds!

[peds]

1 hour ago, Mark Bolam said:

Now we’re cookin’ Peds!

Friend of mine growing up had some absolutely massive koi carp in his pond. Never ate a single one. What a waste!