Here's the fruit. Notice the stem is reddish.. Just like the pictures I see of Yellow Bellflower but it also says that the bark is yellowish and this tree certainly didn't look yellowish, although it is almost 30 ft tall and hard to see what the newer wood looked like...

I don't think there is an expert in the world that could tell you what apple that is based on the picture or even if they had the apple in hand.

It is hard enough when you have a couple of clean apples to look at still fully sound- Some years back I had Roger Way try to identify about 25 varieties from fresh reasonably sound apples and I think his accuracy rate might have been about 75% based on what the trees told me later (ripening time, average size, etc). At the time he was considered the best at the game in NY state.

The tree does look like a grafted one based on the swelling at the base.

Looks like it had two trunks at one time. The massive callous tissue is still there around the base where it broke off or was cut off years ago.
Might be a hobbit living in there

I agree with Harvestman...I seriously doubt anyone could ID those apples with any degree of accuracy. You should email your photos to John Bunker at Fedco...he's a Maine guy and a recognized authority on old antique heirloom apple varieties. He might even be very interested if some of the really old ones are old enough.
If you do write him, post back and let us know what he had to say. I for one would be very interested. I love old apple trees, especially the big hunkers.

No way to get your answers this quick. However, it will be great fun to learn about the stuff and get the orchard back in shape. Before pruning anything consult the guys on this forum about the hows and whys.

Jeremiah,
Much fun ahead of you. No way to tell since the original may have died and sprouts taken over a century ago. I have many like that. By all means keep some of the major stems but top work much of the stems to modern or known cultivars. Get rid of the wild seedlings or replant them and graft. If left in the bush close by they will be insect and disease magnets. One reason to keep some of the old stems alive is that in Maine there are likely old cultivars that are unknown. If you can get some good specimens next fall, John Bunker may be able to identify some of them. Good luck.
Bberry

>>Is there a way to tell if an old apple tree is grafted? Yes there is a way,...grow from root cuttings and see if apples matches the top, if so, then it's not grafted.

Hi guys,

Thanks for your input.
I have met John Bunker a few times before, a very intelligent man. I will wait till next fall and bring him some specimens/pictures. I will keep these big guys sprayed and hopefully have some nice fruit to show come fall time. I will keep you updated.

Thanks,
-Jeremiah

Konrad, do most apple roots sprout new wood if you cut off a piece? Certainly many old trees don't sprout root suckers. The dwarfing rootstocks from England all have the ability to be propagated by stooling but this was a deliberate choice to assure easy propagation.

I have noticed that root injury of some sort often seems to trigger a suckering response in older trees, but when fully cut off suckering seems less common. A few examples come to mind.
Numerous old trees in a abounded farmstead orchard. No suckers for years, bad storm blew 3 partially over and they each developed numerous small suckers from the damaged roots on the upwind side.

Some atvs tore through another patch of what I believe were old feral trees in early spring mud season, really tore the place up. Many suckers developed along the edges of the ruts that summer.

There are two old trees that grow in some very thin wet soils about a mile from our home. We have a lot of thin wet soils on our place and these interested me greatly as potential rootstock. so last spring I dropped a spade down in a number of places halfway out to drip line. I was trying to damage but not sever some smaller roots. I got two apparent suckers to develop. Hoping to be able to move them this coming spring and experiment.

Konrad, do most apple roots sprout new wood if you cut off a piece?

I found this out by accident...

Not sure most but had experienced allot of my tree roots close
to the surface have sprouted out when I got rid of about 3 trees when I put in a pond about 5 years ago, same with Evans cherries. I have some bushes now on the slope which I like to stabilize the soil for now.
I would expose some roots by shaving off soil close to the end of root ball,..cut off the heavy feeder root further toward the trunk and let the smaller feeder end roots only be covered with very little soil, or just slightly see the roots, this is how mine sprouted out.

You can also try by not cutting through, or in half, the heavy feeder root, it might be better.

Interesting- thanks to both of you.