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Why do apple growers chop down cedars?

By Chelsie Vandaveer

April 17, 2003

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Henry Fields Seed and Nursery -$20 OFF—>Click here.

Gurney's Seed and Nursery -$20 OFF—>Click here.

Suggested Reading—>Click here.

Assorted Killer Savings Garden Links—>Click here.

Killer Picks: Codling Moth Trap, Fruit Trees Alive!® Build-Up Formula—>Click here.

McIntosh, Sundance, Sweet Sixteen, 4-in-1, Red-Luscious, Apple Trees—>Click here.

Fungi have unique life cycles, especially those called the "rusts". Cedar-apple rust, caused by Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae Schwein [gym nos poor an' gee um ju nip' er i vir gin' i an ay], must alternate its hosts, apples and junipers, in order to survive.

Liberty Apple Tree The First True Low-Spray Apple! Fabulous for fresh eating, juice and sauce, this crunchy, mildly tart apple is much like an easy-to-grow version of McIntosh.

Resists scab, fire blight and cedar apple rust—the name actually refers to the breeder's quest to free the grower from endless spraying! Ripens early Oct. Zone 5 to 8.

This Item Ships In The Spring. Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Comments: Resistant to scab, fireblight, cedar-apple rust. Thin in attain good fruit size. Partially self-fruitful but produces better with another variety. 90% red blush. Spright flavor. Heavily spurred. Heavy producer. 800 chill hours.

Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

In summer, aeciospores from infected apple leaves are wind-blown to 'red cedars' (Juniperus virginiana Linnaeus and others) where the spores germinate and infect the juniper branches. The growth, a gall, resembles a chocolate-brown, deformed golf ball complete with dimples. This stage survives winter and may live for years on the juniper growing larger until it kills the branch. (Ortho Home Gardener's Problem Solver, 1993)

In spring, warmth and rain cause the gall to grow orange, gelatinous horns (telia) from the dimpled areas. Each telium is actually hundreds of teliospores that reproduce forming basidiospores. Basidiospores are wind carried and must land on an apple leaf or fruit to survive. These germinate sending mycelia into the leaf or fruit. Infected leaves have yellow or orange spots; infected fruit is deformed, falls from the tree, and rots on the ground.

In summer, when the mycelia emerge out the underside of an apple leaf, the fungus forms rusty papery growths called aecia. The aecia produce the aeciospores that are wind-carried to the junipers. (Fungus of the Month for May 1999, Tom Volk, University of Wisconsin)

Apples cannot infect other apples and junipers cannot infect other junipers. Only the basidiospores from junipers can infect apples and only aeciospores from apples can infect junipers. If an apple grower does not want deformed fruit, the cycle must be broken. Since the spores can float on air currents for several miles, the orchardist must make sure no junipers grow within 3 to 5 miles of the orchard.

Tom Volk with the University of Wisconsin has great photographs of the orange telia on junipers and a detailed description of the life cycle of cedar-apple rust. To view his Fungus of the Month, click on the link:

http://botit.botany.wisc.edu/toms_fungi/may99.html

Cornell University, Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic also has information on cedar-apple rust, a diagram of the life cycle, and photographs of infected apple leaves, the telia, aeciospores on hawthorn, and the brown gall that lives on the juniper. To learn more and view the photographs, click on the link:

http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/FactSheets/cedar-applerust/cedar-applerust.htm

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Unique Professionally Designed Gardens

Springhill Nursery®

Spring Hill Nursery has unique gardens professionally designed by experts to take the guesswork out of gardening. Whether you are looking for a three season garden, foundation garden, or a garden to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, Spring Hill Nursery has created a step-by-step design just for you. Click here - $20 off your first order at Spring Hill Nursery!

Codling Moth Trap

Gardens Alive!®

Prevents worm damage to fruit crops

Codling moths are among the worst enemies of apples, peaches, pears, crab apples and English walnuts. The larvae bore into the center of the fruit to feed on the seeds.

Damage can be extensive, often involving all fruit on the tree, and control is complicated because the pest produces two generations each year.

Our traps produce excellent results. A unique technology releases the pheromone scent continuously, in tiny amounts, for up to eight weeks.

For best results, set out traps two weeks before bud break. Use two traps per mature full-size tree, one for a dwarf tree. Replace lure after eight weeks.

If crop damage has already begun, traps may reduce the second generation, but additional control methods will be needed. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!
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Fruit Trees Alive!® Build-Up Formula

Gardens Alive!®

Helps fruit trees grow faster and bear big, delicious harvests

Signature Product Fruit Trees Alive! has been specially formulated to meet the growth demands of apples, peaches and most other fruit trees.

Eleven macro- and micronutrients are in the mix, including copper and sulfur, which produce the delicious sweetness so characteristic of well-grown, tree-ripened fruit.

Build-Up Formula For small, newly planted trees, scatter about two cups around the trunk; for larger new trees, apply at the rate of 10 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. For severely depleted soils, apply in the second year at the rate of 5 lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft. in spring and again in midsummer.

Fruit Trees Alive! was designed for medium to heavy soils with average fertility. On sandy soils, or for the tree's first year of growth, use our Build-Up Formula, which contains extra micronutrients. Follow up annually with Maintenance Formula to replace nutrients used for growth and production. Click here - $20 FREE off your first order at Gardens Alive!
Click here for All Home Orchards Products.

McIntosh Apple Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

The World's Favorite Apple

Cold-hardy native of Canada. Round, red, mildly tart fruit has a soft texture when cooked. Gives applesauce and cider a spicy kick, bakes up juicy and tender. Ripens in mid-September. Zones: 4 - 6 (-20° F.)

This Item Ships In The Spring.
Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Comments: Sweet crisp, white flesh. A good all-around apple. Resistant to cedar-apple rust and fireblight. Small-cored apple. Tart, spicy flavor. Keeps well in January in chilled storage. Partially self-fruitful but produces better with another variety.

Special considerations: Apple trees are grafted. Mix generous amounts of organic material 15-18" into soil before planting. Seeds are a good indicator of ripeness, white if fruit is immature & brown when fruit is ripe. Fruit should part from the stem easily as well. If storing over winter, select burise & blemish free fruit. Water trees deeply in hot, dry, windy weather. After 1st year, fertilize w/ 12-12-12; 1 lb. Per tree. Feed in early spring before new growth starts. It is very important to not over fertilize; avoid high nitrogen fertilizers. Uspp = united states plant patent pri = varieties which are known for their disease resistance.

Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Sundance Apple Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

One of the Most Exciting Apples in Years!

Gurney's Choice "Popping" crisp--one of the finest apples we've ever tasted. Unique, refreshing, sweet-lemon flavor!

Excellent resistance to scab and cedar apple rust. Matures late September.

Zone 5 to 8. This Item Ships In The Spring.
Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Comments: The only scab immune, yellow variety that had legitimate resistance to cedar rust. From the Purdue breeding program. High sugar content. Very high fruit quality. Fruit does not drop prematurely. Sundance apples are sweet with a slight pineapple-like flavor.

Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Sweet Sixteen Apple Tree

Henry Fields Seed and Nursery®

Remarkable Flavor and Crunch

Rich vanilla flavor makes such wonderful pies; your friends will want to know your secret ingredient! Our staff of experts rates this variety one of the three best for fresh off-the-tree eating because of the intense sweet vanilla taste.

Northerners may be interested to know that Sweet Sixteen is a cold-hardy introduction from the University of Minnesota. Zone 3 to 6.

This Item Ships In The Spring. Click here - $20 off at Henry Fields Seed and Nursery!

Our apple trees are guaranteed to be shipped disease free and true to name. Standard trees grow to about 22-25 ft. bear in 4 to 6 years and produce 10+ bushels at maturity. Dwarf trees grow 8 to 10 ft., begin to produce in 2 to 3 years and produce 2 to 5 bushels at maturity. Most apple varieties produce best when planted within 100 yards of another apple variety. Click here to view All Apple Trees!

4-in-1 Apple Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

Four Different Apples

Four different apple varieties al on the same tree. The varieties pollinate each other for top crops, then ripen at different times to extend the harvest. Best of all, you only have to care for one tree- ideal when space is limited.

Zones 4-8

This Item Ships In The Spring.

Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Red-Luscious Apple Tree

Gurney's Seed and Nursery®

The Perfect Backyard Apple

Compared to Red Delicious for fresh eating, Red-Luscious has a more intense, sweet and rich flavor. Its unique balance of acids and sweetness makes it the best apple to slice and dry in the microwave for "leather" treats. Perfect for neglected backyards since it is highly resistant to all apple diseases-a breakthrough in apple breeding. Ripens over a 2 week period in early Aug. for easier harvest.

Zone 5 to 8

This Item Ships In The Spring. Click here - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!

Comments: Compared to Red Delicious for fresh eating, Red-Luscious has a more intense, sweet and rich flavor. Its unique balance of acids and sweetness makes it the best apple to slice and dry in the microwave for "leather" treats. Perfect for neglected backyards since it is highly resistant to all apple diseases-a breakthrough in apple breeding. Ripens over a 2 week period in early Aug. for easier harvest.

Fruit Trees & Nut Trees For Sale - $20 off any order for $50 or more at Gurneys.com!