What can be done about water shoots on apple trees, how can one prevent or reduce their formation and why do they occur?

Hello everyone, My father asked me to find out something for him. He has two old apple trees in his garden that he inherited from the previous owner when he bought the property a few years ago. The trees are at least 40 years old. The problem my father has is that both apple trees…

Save a rotten apple tree?

We have an ancient apple tree in our garden, really gnarled. Unfortunately, it's also rotten and very hollow inside the trunk. It's already stabilized with two crisscross straps, but it wobbles a little more with every storm. I think it's slowly becoming unpredictably dangerous because no one knows if or when something will break off….