Apple tree rescue/pruning help for a newbie

We are getting ready to plant quite a few new trees and bushes. We decided to leave this apple (we think) tree given aside from seemingly little to no pruning during its time here (we moved in about 8 months ago) it seems healthy but a secondary tree has grown from what appears to be the original graft. I've included a few photos below. The first is the tree clump itself with our intended cuts. The second being the base. My wife and I were thinking we'd cut the secondary down to about 1" off the graft while cleaning up the other sucker/shoots that have shot up while also pruning back that lowest branch on the main tree.  


Does this seem like a good approach to giving the tree a chance to thrive and if so, is it too late in the season to do it now or should we wait until fall? Thanks a ton in advance for any feedback!

I would be much more ruthless and prune all of the suckers leaving just the main trunk.

When all the leaves drop, I would also thin the branches in the centre of the tree and reduce the height of the branches to make harvesting easier.

I'm with Megan.  Ruthless.  After all the leaves have fallen.

This fall, remove all but the main trunk.  Next fall, cut away all top branches above, say, 15 feet or so.

Another vote for Megan's approach, and I wouldn't wait. Get those suckers gone now, and take down some of that top growth while it's still tender. Apples are vigorous and put on lots of vegetative growth when they're happy. If you want fruit, and not simply more tree, the key is to limit vertical habit as much as you can.

We take suckers out of our trees all summer long and it's easiest early in the season when you can just snap them off cleanly by hand. The amount of apples we're harvesting from our intentionally managed small trees is phenomenal...the food dehydrator runs nonstop from April to June (building a solar unit is on the list).

I'm also with Megan and eliminate the suckers now.

Can you tell where the graft is? If the graft was set below the soil line, that may not be suckers off the root stock, but may be shoots off the top itself. Either way, you don't want em.

Yep, I remove suckers and water sprouts all year long as they are growing.  Heavier pruning may be best done while the tree is dormant, but I don't always follow that rule either.

Thanks a ton for the guidance, we’re looking forward to getting this one course corrected but really haven’t much experience. Y’all are awesome!

Yes, definitely fix those suckers now.

Also, to my eye those branches on top look rather flimsy for their length. When fruit sets the weight will likely bend them considerably. I've a few trees at home that suffered at about this stage, because I didn't realise. Snapped a few branches, and other stems ended up bend downwards to steep angles.

Keep an eye on it, and be prepared to (potentially drastically!) thin fruit this year. Maybe shorten some of those branches in the winter, until you have a more robust central  framework

The tree looks so much happier after the pruning, thanks a ton for the guidance! I could be imagining things but it seems to have grown since I pruned it last week. I soaked it quite well after adding some mulch. I'll wait for fall to shorten those upper and gangly side branches. Thanks again!