Such a sad day...

[thornfordrose]

I have a beautiful apple tree, which the oldest man in our village (95) tells me is a 'Rival' and he remembers it there as a child.

Yesterday the main trunk completely split off horizontaly and fell down - it was laden with beautiful apples...

When we looked the trunk is totally rotten inside so I guess it was the weight of the apples that finally made it go.

My questions:

Does anyone know if you can make cider out of apples that are not quite ready? I hate to think that these beautiful apples would go to waste...

Could I try to take a graft of the original tree onto a new tree? I've never done this before!

Or does anyone know where I could buy a replacement Rival tree?

The only Rivals I have seen listed are crab apples - which this is not. The apples are huge! They start off as cooking apple taste and consistency and the turn into a wonderful eating apple sweetness and softer consistency after store well into the new year.

I'd really appreciate any help!

Rachel

[OrangePippin-Richard]

Right now is a good time to propagate a new tree from your one. Are there any new shoots which have grown this season? If so see if you can find a local nursery that could bud-graft for you.

[thornfordrose]

That's a great idea, thank you for your advice - I wouldn't know where to start with a graft so I'll search around for a local nursery to do it properly!