Collected apple question

[aml1014]

The roots obviously have some life in them, and are producing suckers. You need to keep the roots alive, so at least some of the suckers are needed to feed the roots. But you really only need a couple. I would thin out the ones that are not spaced right for a "Forest style". If you are lucky, eventually the trunk will bud, but if you are not it won't. It is always a crap shoot when you collect a trunk. There is no 100% guarantee. Just let nature take its course. Give the trunk an entire summer to bud out. If it doesn't bud out by September, it probably won't. Then decide whether or not you want to work with the suckers or scrap it and look for another trunk for next year.

Thanks leo, I did go ahead and thin the suckers down to one in each area they came up. If the trunk of this tree never does bud out, I'll most likely use the suckers as large caliper root cuttings to make several trees from.
I appreciate your advice.

Aaron

 

[aml1014]

Here's a pic of the situation now.


Aaron

 

[Eric Schrader]

FYI, for your hopeful side, I collected a batch of plum trees out of a yard a couple years back. One of them that I was sure was dead sent up a ton of suckers. I didn't cut them off figuring that the main trunk was dead because it hadn't sprouted. 18 months after collecting, the second spring, the main trunk sprouted new shoots....go figure. If it hadn't been shoved in a corner of the yard waiting to be discarded for that long I never would have known a tree could do that.

 

[aml1014]

FYI, for your hopeful side, I collected a batch of plum trees out of a yard a couple years back. One of them that I was sure was dead sent up a ton of suckers. I didn't cut them off figuring that the main trunk was dead because it hadn't sprouted. 18 months after collecting, the second spring, the main trunk sprouted new shoots....go figure. If it hadn't been shoved in a corner of the yard waiting to be discarded for that long I never would have known a tree could do that.

I have only one experience like this. At my work we got bareroot trees in spring, we potted them up and non of them did a thing until the autumn of the following year. So I'll definitely leave it be for a couple years.
I appreciate your feedback.

Aaron

 

[sorce]

Aaron...

This is the Grandma tree right?

I wouldn't mind it styled with the center...dead or alive....
With the grandchildren around it...

Sentimental times call for sentimental measures.

Sorce

 

[aml1014]

Aaron...

This is the Grandma tree right?

I wouldn't mind it styled with the center...dead or alive....
With the grandchildren around it...

Sentimental times call for sentimental measures.

Sorce

That's actually the fig, which happens to have tons of fruit right now.
This tree was my mother's and I'm the only person who's ever liked the thing (everybody else complained about the mess it would make) so it's more so a childhood thing, I used to spend many hours upon the branches of this apple as a youngin. I was also thinking to use the trunk to carve if it never buds out, I could make a forest around an ancient dead trunk. I kinda like that idea.

Aaron

 

[Potawatomi13]

So it's almost been a week now and I have atleast 8 or 9 suckers coming up with bo budding in the trunk but the cambium is still green.

Ugh this tree is stressing me out.
Any other ideas for this tree are very appreciated,for now I'll let the suckers grow and hope the trunk stays alive so I can graft as sorce had recommended.

Aaron

PATIENCE grasshopper. It is the one thing you have not tried yet. Allow it to grow how it will and strongly suspect it will sprout from the trunk. In it's own time.