My Fruit Trees; a Lost Cause?

Hey!
I need some help with my trees; they're alive, most of them, but should I prune them? Ect.

Tree #1 is an apple tree.


Still green


Tree #2 is a Red Pear tree.



Still green.


Tree #3, also a Red Pear.

Dead branch at the top..

..still green on the main part.



Tree #4, peach tree. Biggest of all the trees.

Top of the tree..


.still green

Tree #5 is an apple, semi-choked with thorns


Top of the tree..

..still green

I believe trees 6-8 are dead (7 and 8 broken off at base or just above)

Ole Frank Distefano who owned an orchard taught me how to prune trees the old fashioned way. When I was a little kid.

There is no hurry. Each tree is considered separately. Ole Frank would walk around a tree several times. He'd even sit and gaze at it, telling me a kind "shh...thinking" if i interrupted.

There's still hope for most of them. I see on tree #7 that it has been completely girdled. That one is a goner. It would probably try to come back up from the rootstock, but nearly all fruit trees are grafted, so you wouldn't get the same variety of tree as you bought.

For the others, as long as there is some bark intact along the branch or trunk of a tree, it can in time heal itself and still manage to get water and nutrients up to the branches. There is a complicated technique for bark grafting, but it has to been done very soon after the damage occurs and requires a high level of expertise.

I would take it that deer and rabbits are chomping on your trees? After mowing and cleaning up around the site, a physical barrier would be the next thing to do. All that brush and grass will also give bad buggies, mice, voles, etc. a place to live and hide...inviting more damage and disease, so that is your first priority.

It's almost time to prune...January/February. First, cut off anything dead, diseased or badly damaged. A little scrape won't hurt a branch/trunk, although it could potentially weaken it. Like I said, they will eventually heal as the bark spreads out to encompass the wound. Secondly, you want to remove any branches that overlap, touch, or point back into the center. From there, it gets a little more strategic and I recommend you get a good book on pruning...something with pictures and detailed explanations of the hows and whys. Good luck!

Dito what marshallsmyth said. Each tree is an individual and must be treated as needed for that tree. The better we can see each tree, the more we can help. Good luck! I've had a few trees girdled by rutting deer. There is certainly a lot of hope for what you have. Hang in there.

i'd say the same thing with #7. looks like grafting tape got left on it too long, or something nibbled it. do you know what type of rootstock those were grafted to? if you do cut that tree back give it a couple years and if there appear to be saplings growing from that area you will have you rootstock to graft more trees later.

#4 peach you may want to watch for that spot on the trunk. looks like it could be a canker. if you can trim it out i would do it. if you can't it may need some 'surgery' to correct it. same situation with apple tree #5.

#4 has been rubbed, by a deer or ATV, not sure. Deer come through there a lot. #5, not sure what that is but it's at the top and can be easily trimmed.