Making the most of even a rotten apple tree
Have you got a hopeless apple tree in your garden? One that still fruits, but the apples are tiny, bitter or covered with scab or other ailments?
I have one (the infamous tree grown from a pip when I was a kid and am too sentimental to chop down) and after a four-year programme of restorative pruning, it has finally borne a decent crop of apples.
The only thing is, it’s a Cox Orange Pippin or similar – very prone to scab and we are in a very scabby area if that doesn’t sound too bad.
