Carla Larscheid

Wanted to add that I have a little fence around the trunk of the tree because bucks will use the trunk as a rubbing post (buck rubs killed my young crab apple tree) The bar of soap hanging there keeps the deer from munching on the branches. For now, it has been a wonderful repellent.

Thanks, everyone. I appreciate the quick and thorough responses! I read the information about topping a young tree in an SFGate article. I also saw similar comments in other forums.

Marco, the tree is > 7 feet tall...when I cut the tree in Winter,  are you saying I should cut it down to 4 1/2 feet tall? If you look at the picture, should I cut it right before the “y” at the top?

Glad I came here to get different points of view, experiences and advice. Very friendly group here; thanks for the warm welcome!

Hello,

I am new to this forum, so forgive me if these questions have been asked.

I planted a honey crisp apple tree last Fall and it was pretty tall to begin with, but I read that a tree should not be topped because it can kill the tree. This year it has a lot of apples on it making it too heavy, so I braced it, but is there anything else I can do? Can I prune a little off the top in the Fall? Pics attached.

Also, it is being attacked by Japanese Beetles. I heard Milky Spore can kill the grubs but what do I do to kill the adults besides spraying Sevin on them? Not a fan because that kills beneficial insects.