Does anyone have recommendations for cheering up a crabapple tree ('malus' spring snow)? We've had one since spring 2004 and the leaves have always looked droopy (rather pathetic). In 2004 & 2005 the tree had white flowers. In 2006, due to a winter drought, it barely leafed and had no flowers. So far this year about 3/4 of the tree has leaves (the bare branches look like they will eventually sprout leaves). Any advice welcome! Thanks. LaurieDutch

‘Well if you like the grown tree by definition I haven't spoiled it...’. If you like .... Obviously it's not my tree but I would like it better if it had been left in peace. Imo it has been spoiled because one can see exactly where it was lopped back five years ago and where the long straight new growth shot up the following year. A naturally shaped ornamental crab doesn't have that obvious visible line through the canopy which breaks up the branching structure. There’s nothing to be done now but the trees would look far more attractive without any further cutting so they can resume their natural growth pattern. Why chop it off and wait five years for recovery when if it had been left alone it would have been beautiful every year? Tell your wife you’ll leave them alone from now on and in a few years they will have recovered sufficiently to hide the damage to the structure, in the summer at least. But sadly you’ve lost next spring’s bloom display. Maybe buy another one for her to enjoy next year as a peace offering? Or a different ornamental tree? You have plenty of space.

tree time is counted in decades ... there is nothing more for you to do.. in any hurry ... maybe in a year or 3.. we can do some pruning to set it back on course .. the injury is going to spur on some new growth.. we will probably want to remove some of that.. and train one leader back up ... trees heal themselves.. unless you screw it up further.. so be in no hurry to fix it ... ken

"Cedars" in this case being certain species of junipers, not "white cedars" (arborvitaes) or true cedars, Cedrus species. And while the disease is unsightly and can disfigure fruit and cause some early leaf drop, it tends to be more of a cosmetic issue than seriously harmful. The good news is that there are a number of crabapple cultivars that have been bred specifically for disease resistance. And not just rust - also scab, fireblight and mildew resistance. Adirondack, Firebird, Pink Princess, PrairieFire, Prof. Sprenger and Sargentii are all very highly disease resistant cultivars but several others are rated very highly for rust resistance in particular.