Big Daddy, I've got an apple tree in my yard that I love for it's shade, but it doesn't put out apples that I would want to eat and so each year in the fall, I've got a big, squashy mess. What can I do other than cut down the tree?! -MR

I would never suggest cutting down trees solely based on the mess they make. In the 70s, people were encouraged to plant fruit trees & gardens in Utah to become more self-sufficient. Many yards were planted with multiple fruit trees without any regard for variety. An apple is an apple, right? You know better if you actually eat fruit! Even if you like the fruit and can get enough worm free fruit from the tree, such big trees put off more fruit than your entire family could stomache each year. This is the driving force for all the giveaways to neighbors and friends and finally the rot of the fruit. Thirty years later, these trees are now serving more function than fruit bearing, providing shade, privacy, a home for birds and wildlife, etc. Those become the reasons for the trees more so than the fruit they produce and we begin to think, wouldn't it be nice if that were just a shade tree that size? Well, it's not and short of replacing it and waiting another twenty years, there won't be a shade tree of that size in that spot. So what can we do, nothing? No, you can take an active role in drastically reducing the fruit on your trees! Hope for late frost during bloom? Yes, but that's a little too much up to chance! Get out and pick all the blossoms? Might as well just wait for it to become fruit if you're in a picking mood! There are several fruit inhibiting chemicals on the market today that can be sprayed onto trees during bloom that will stop fruit from forming. My personal favorite is called Florel and is effective at severely reducing fruit on a very wide range of trees and shrubs when applied according to label. Crabapples, apples, olive, sycamore, plum, pear, etc. A couple of words of warning, though. You MUST follow the directions for applying products like this as they can actually defoliate and injure your tree if used improperly. You also need a sprayer of some sort that can reach the blooms in the tree! I use a 15 gallon, 12 volt sprayer at home that I never have used for herbicides of any sort. With the spray gun set for stream, it is easy to get up into the tops of trees in the 15-20 foot range if the wind is calm. The sprayer that you use can also be a great tool for applying insecticides later on after rinsing thoroughly! If I need to do something bigger,  I use the gas engine powered sprayers that are the tools of the professional. You could have a spray service do this spraying for you as well, although timing is critical and the price will be much higher to have them come out. The important part is to know that you do have options so that you can make an informed decision. -BD