Guate, if you cut it down in summer I would expect the galls would not be able to fully mature by then. They are formed from the maturing infection on your apple leaves which are only "ripening" about then. You will know for sure next year when you see how much infection you get. Picking off the leaves can leave the tree with too few good leaves and people usually don't do that. If you only have a couple and plenty of good leaves they could be picked off. Junipers that are infecting your apple trees can be quite far away. My apples are getting a bit of it and I have walked around the neighborhood many times looking for the source and don't know where it is. At this point it is only cosmetic for me so I just leave it be. Scott

It's not cedar-apple rust. Looks more like scab, a fungal issue than can affect both apples and pears although many disease resistant varieties available. I'd take samples of the affected leaves into your local extension office for an accurate diagnosis and the best methods to treat this problem in your area - appropriate treatment and timing can vary by location and I have no idea how prevalent this may be in FL or what they recommend. FWIW, scab does not necessarily require treatment. It depends quite a lot on how severe the disease is and how much leaf loss occurs as a result. My favorite apple variety - Gravenstein - is extremely prone to scab, yet I grew it for years and never, ever sprayed. It lost some leaves during the season but nothing drastic and scab seldom does anything more than blemish the appearance of the fruit - it remains totally edible. So spraying fruit trees is NOT a requirement if you are able to tolerate less than pristine looking trees and fruit.

If you treat your trees regularly with a fungicide as OSU says to do, you ought to be able to keep them alive. Cedar Apple Rust is not a persistent problem in my area because almost nobody near me grows apples or crabapples, so I rarely see those globs of orange hanging in the trees. I have two neighbors who grow apple trees, and they've cleared away cedar trees (to the extent that they can) so there are none too close to their apple trees. In both cases, their particular sites are somewhat sheltered from the prevailing wind and that seems to help their trees. I imagine they spray their trees to keep them disease tree, though I've never knocked on their doors and said "Hey, do you spray your apple trees?" (grin) I do not think CAR is an annual problem in much of OK, but maybe it depends on where you live. We almost never see it here in the dry years (which we have plenty of) but will see it occasionally in the spring that follows a wet summer. I believe the infection occurs in the wet summer, but you don't know it is there until the following spring. If you are in a part of OK that generally is wet every year and has higher humidity than what we normally here in southcentral OK, you might see it more regularly there than we will see it down here. Do you know why your cherry trees died? Cherries do need very well-drained soil.

Hayley, Looks like CAR to me. I also had CAR the first year I planted. Not knowing about it I purchased 8 fruit trees of gala, honeycrisp, grannsmith, red delicious and a 4 in 1 cherry tree. I was very disappointed to see all my trees look like the leaf above. Did some research and found that my property is lined by cedar trees. I thought I would be doomed but after doing some research I decided to go with Immunox it wont do much to save you this year but next year you should get pretty good control of it. I start the spraying prior to the first rain when it is 60 degrees or higher. I apply every 10 days till summer time. It got rid of the CAR 100%. Once the temperature gets warm enough the spores a no longer in the air and your trees will be safe. Good Luck!