I agree with you, Acer, that the choice is a contradiction. The Green Giant (Thuja) was the other contender when I narrowed down my choices. There were a few things that tilted the selection to cedar. One is that it is nearly impossible here in town to get an apple tree far enough away from junipers to avoid cedar-apple rust if the apple tree is susceptible -- the experts say something like a half-mile of distance is needed. There are probably several junipers in neighbors' yards just on my block alone. So one more juniper will not likely cause more trouble than the other existing dozens would. Second, I prefer native plants. If there were no resistant apple trees, I would plant the juniper anyway because the juniper is native. According to one source, it is the ONLY needleleaf evergreen native to this particular area. On the other hand, apple trees are the interloper here. As far as I know, no apples are native to Iowa, not even crabapples. So why plant an apple at all? Well, I have this stubborn conviction that every yard needs an apple tree because I grew up with one. Even tho it was out behind the garage and surrounded by tall shrubs and could only be seen when one was standing right underneath it, it impressed me enough to want an apple tree wherever I call home. "Home is where the apple tree grows." Third, along with being native is the observation that these junipers are found in native stands along with black walnuts, so they are already good friends and won't cause trouble between themselves. It's good to know that my trees will feel good with each other. Their driplines will be very close, maybe overlapping. Fourth, the juniper provides berries that birds enjoy during the winter and the thuja does not. Feeding wildlife is an important consideration to me. No, I have not heard of cedar-needle pie either! Haha. I'll have to work on that one -- what a challenge! But I think one can make gin from the berries. I wonder how the berries would flavor citrus-based confections like lemon pudding? Fifth was the growth rate. I think the juniper grows a bit faster than the Thuja. I can certainly afford a bigger juniper to start with because a close friend has a farm full of junipers -- he admires the tree -- and he'll dig one up to transplant. It'll be like a family connection through the tree. So I might have a useful screen in only a few years to block a neighboring apartment house window that looks down into my big patio window, which I like to keep uncurtained. When it's all added up, I am simply very happy that my stubborn, contradictory convictions can be satisfied with a really promising solution like a disease-resistant tree.

The fungicide in the Bonide spray is Captan. It isn't effective against CAR. When you use a multipurpose spray, you're limited in when you can use it because it can't be sprayed during bloom, because of the bees. If I could do one thing to improve growing, it would be eliminating the Bonide multipurpose spray. A much better product is Immunox, the fungicide-only formulation.

Yes, cedar apple rust could kill a fledgling graft if it defoliated. Leaf hoppers often do mine in as they get dessicated when they lose their leaves.

I am going to assume you didn't know about Cedar Apple Rust before you planted the trees, but just for the benefit of others who might be wanting to plant apples or crabapples, the best advice is to think long and hard before you do it. Because cedar trees are widespread in our state and very invasive, it is very hard, if not almost impossible, to grow healthy apples and crabapples here. I love apples, but have lived here for 10 years and never planted one because I don't want to deal with cedar apple rust. Since you've already planted the trees, though, you have to deal with it. So, in answer to your questions: I don't think it is possible to control it on the cedars themselves. What you can do is remove the cedar apples (the fungal growths, also known as galls) before they form horns. If they have already formed horns it is too late. And, if there are cedar trees within about 2 miles of you, the disease can be carried through the air, so removing the cedar apples from the infected cedar trees near you may help a little, but it won't prevent airborne cedar apple disease spores from infecting your plants. You can spray your crabapples with a fungicide that is labeled for use on crabapples for the prevention/control of cedar apple rust, but the spraying has to be done at very specific temperatures and at very precise times. I believe the spores transfer most readily when temperatures are in the 60s. The fungicide most readily available to homeowners for Cedar Apple Rust on crabapples is cholorothalonil, most often sold as Daconil, and often used by vegetable gardeners, for example, to prevent Early Blight on tomatoes. I think you also can use a different fungicide called Bayleton. Just read and follow the label directions IF it is not too late, weatherwise and temperaturewise, in your area. Even though your crabapple trees are new to you, they actually are several years old by the time you buy them, so the application of a fungicide following label directions should not harm them at all. Just be sure you dilute the fungicide and apply it as directed. The entire life cycle of cedar apple rust from cedar tree to its transferrence to apple trees takes almost 2 years. It is an ever-present threat. It is the reason you don't see vast orchards of apples in Oklahoma. Of the two crabapples you plante, I think Prairiefire is considered highly disease-resistant and Profusion less so. However, disease-resistant only means the tree has some resistance, not immunity, and even disease-resistant trees can and do get diseases. Cedar Apple Rust is the main cause of rust on apple trees, but you also have to watch out for the closely related Cedar-Quince Rust and Cedar-Hawthorne Rust. They are controlled/prevented by the same fungicides. Please understand though that even the regular application of fungicide is no guarantee the trees won't become infected. Understand also that cedar apple rust is not something that will be a problem only once. If is an issue for your trees one year, it probably will be an issue for them every year when the temperatures are in the precise range that allows the spores to transfer and infect apple trees. Only you can decide if you want to deal with the cedar-apple rust disease every year, or if you'd rather cut your losses and replace your crabapple trees with some other kind of tree that is more disease-resistant. Good luck, Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Info on Cedar Apple Rust