posted 15 years ago
There is an apple tree by my grandmother's house in Alden, Michigan (zone 4 or 5 I think.) I'm sure that tree is well over 100 years old. Still produces apples, some years more than others. Some summers you have to be careful walking though the yard that you don't step on an apple and twist an ankle. That poor tree has been partly hollow since I was a kid. Perhaps next summer I should figure out a cover to keep rain/snow out of the hollow and keep the tree healthier for longer. The apples don't compare that well to modern varieties for eating out of hand but I'm sure they are fine for baking/preserving if anyone were to bother. Normally the deer get lots of treats though.