Iowa, To me, apple tree height depends on two main things, its rootstock and pruning. I attached info on rootstocks here so you can read up and decide which one is best for your zone and soil type. Then, there is pruning. To me, that's a lot harder to get good at. Some people would say they can keep apple at any height they want depending on how they prune it. I'm not in that league. I have William's Pride which is a very good early apple but I don't know how well it keeps in storage. I never have had enough to keep. Here is a link that might be useful: Apple tree rootstocks

Thanks for the responses. How toxic is Immunox/myclobutanil? The warnings of course make it sound horrible and our water comes from a well not far off. Unfortunately, there will be no getting rid of the cedars, for family reasons. And while the area around the trees is mowed and underneath is kept mulched and weeded, the rest of the field (and the surrounding fields) are basically tall weedy grass that gets mowed once a year. That's not going anywhere either unless someone gives me a brush hog and a tractor to pull it with. I guess the best bet moving forward is to try to spray at the right time(s) in the future. I'll look into the suggested sprays for this year, though. Randy - My William's Pride isn't bearing yet (just put it in this year). I've had them from farm stands though and thought they were good enough to try planting. I don't have any tasting notes or anything, though :) Anyway, I hope they're good. Thanks again. Sam

Thanks for responding -- yes, I did post over at the Fruit forum and got some responses. I ordered a Liberty apple from Adams County nursery in Pennsylvania and am very happy with the tree they sent. It's blossoming right now and looking sturdy and energetic.

I did a Google search for "cedar apple rust resistant apple varieties" and this publication from the University of Arkansas was the first one on the list. Here are some others as well: http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G6026 http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/BP/BP-132-W.pdf Here is a link that might be useful: cedar apple rust info from university of Arkansas