Landscape - Cedar-Quince Rust

The following is information on Cedar Quince Rust, a common disease in Delaware that can be observed at this time.

CEDAR-QUINCE RUST has been observed on ground cover juniper in Delaware at this time. This rust fungus produces spindle shaped orange-red gelatinous swelling in the infected twigs but not a round gall. They can be pruned out or left alone. They will not hurt the juniper but produce spores that can cause symptoms on serviceberry and hawthorn. Cedar-quince rust on those hosts infects the fruit and twigs causing malformations with tiny white finger-like projections on the fruit surface.

Fruiting Bodies of cedar quince rust on juniper. Photo by Edward L. Barnard, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bugwood.org

Aecial formation on Hawthorn fruit from Cedar-Quince rust. Photo by Ethel Dutky, University of Maryland, Bugwood.org.

Information from Bob Mulrooney, Extension Plant Pathologist, UD.