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 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 _______________________________________________ Gardening mailing list Gardening(a)eastraleigh.org http://www.eastraleigh.org/mailman/listinfo/gardening