This last year I felt that my Liberty was beginning to show signs of a loss in vigor. It just didn't want to produce as heavily as before, and the apples were smaller. I did thin heavily. It has been about 12 years since I planted it. I don't know the rootstock; I bought it as semi-dwarf and it has been easy to keep to about 12 feet in height. The trunk diameter is about 6-8 inches.

I've pruned it somewhat badly in the past, but have started to get a grasp on what it needs in terms of scaffolds and open-ness. It's a weird-looking tree but has worked pretty well so far.

It's also home to a couple of dozen grafts, some pretty poorly placed- too far from the trunk and so on.

My instinct right now is to hew it back pretty severely and re-locate some of the grafts. I want to cut into older wood up to about 1 1/2", as close as a couple of feet to the trunk, which would mean leaving a lot of wood on the ground; I'm reasoning that the tree will respond with lots of vegetative growth (which I will have to thin and manage with summer pruning in 2011) and that in 2012 and 2013 I'll have more young and vigorous fruiting wood to select from.

I'm looking to hear criticisms, corrections, and refinements, and I very much appreciate any and all comments.

Thank you all.

Mark