Our beloved apple tree has fallen over [sad]

[Aworryingtrend]

Hi everyone

We inherited an apple tree in the garden of our house and unfortunately last night it fell over. it had always leaned rather to the right and I think the weight of the apples on it just brought it down. The roots are still covered by the earth, its just uprooted the ground around it a bit.

Is there anything at all we can do? Can we bolster/anchor/prop it up in some way? MIL who knows her gardening stuff seems to think there isn't much point and it will die .

I am so upset at the thought of losing this lovely tree- it was full of apples just about to ripen.

Incidentally does anyone know what I can do with approx 50 under-ripe apples?

Being an optimist, I'd suggest righting the thing, heaping plenty of fresh compost over the roots, staking it down firmly with a couple of BIG stakes some distance apart and some heavy-duty tree ties and keeping it well-watered and fed. MIL may well be right and it may die anyway, but it's worth a shot. Pick off all the apples if you think it's top-heavy. They'll ripen OK indoors.

Come January/February, if it's still alive, prune it hard into a better, more upright/regular/balanced shape.

Thanks Cogito, we've sort of propped it up using an old bit of wood for the time being but its not looking good! Going to the gardenc entre on Saturday for more supplies, fingers crossed it makes it til then!