Ask Burton!

Q: I have a row of red cedars that are showing a weird, gloppy orange goo in individual lumps on some of their branches. The plants don’t look like they’re doing badly, but what is that stuff?

A: The rains of the early spring season tend to make this disease show up. This is a disease called cedar-apple rust.

First, the good news! Cedars and junipers are almost never seriously damaged by this disease. You may have twigs or the occasional branch die out as a consequence of this infection, but the disease generally does minor damage to cedars. Prune out infected material where possible and spray your pruners with a disinfectant between each pruning cut.

Now, the interesting bit.

This disease has an unusual life cycle – it must alternate between infecting a cedar or juniper, and an apple or crabapple. The other half of the pair does not have to be anywhere close, as this disease can blow on the wind for miles. Pears and quince can also be infected with a closely related rust. This rust can cause serious leaf drop on those trees and ruin fruit.

But as the part you’re concerned with is your cedars, do a bit of pruning, feed your plants, and move on with your spring.