Hi Tracey: I work at Logan Trading Company and am also a master gardener
volunteer. It is usually recommended that you not plant apples and junipers
in the same vicinity. You would probably see signs of the cedar-apple rust
on your junipers if the disease did in fact come from those particular
trees. It's also possible the disease came from junipers planted somewhere
else in the neighborhood. Spores can travel quite a distance, especially
given the wind and storms we've had lately.
It will be difficult to grow apples without doing some spraying for disease
prevention. Below are some links that might be of help to you.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/fletcher/programs/apple/plantpath/CARfact.html
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8301.html
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/notes/oldnotes/fd3.htm
Sharon O'Neill
<mailto:sharon.oneill@kasefang.com> sharon(a)kasefang.com
From: gardening-bounces(a)eastraleigh.org
[mailto:gardening-bounces@eastraleigh.org] On Behalf Of Tracey Cox
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2011 5:12 PM
To: gardening(a)eastraleigh.org
Cc: Phil Cole
Subject: [Gardening] Intro and apple tree disease question
Hello all,
My name is Tracey. I live on Bennett St with my fiance Phil and 4 year old
son Trevor. I am a novice gardener with my first two raised beds. Right now
I'm growing lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and herbs. I also put in
blueberry bushes, a Granny Smith apple tree, a Fuji apple tree, and a cherry
tree. I tried to pick disease-resistant varieties but I didn't exactly know
what I was doing! I figured I'd learn from experience.
After the apple trees were chosen, we decided to add some Hollywood juniper
nearby for backyard privacy. We bought 6, 6-foot trees from Broadwell's
Nursery and put them in ourselves. So far they seem healthy with the
exception of some brown needles here and there (I presume from the trauma of
being moved and replanted?) The trees have been in the ground since late
March.
Today I was inspecting my baby fruit trees and noticed the Granny Smith has
small rust-colored raised spots on its leaves. I did some Googling and it
looks like it's some sort of fungus, presumably from the juniper trees which
were cited in a few articles I found. The junipers don't have any sign of
fungus at all that I've seen.
I'm really worried about the fruit trees, because above all I want to have
fruit in my yard and it's really maddening that the juniper we just put in
could be causing this problem. I hesitate to use any non-organic treatment
on the trees, but that seems to be the only option that will control a
fungus like this well enough...??
I have attached a picture to this email of a few of the Granny Smith leaves.
I'm wondering if anyone can identify the fungus for me and/or suggest a
treatment. I don't want to have to pull out my fruit trees (are they all
succeptible to this fungus, by the way?) but I also don't want to have to
spray them every year forever.
Thanks in advance for your help.
-Tracey