Q: There are a bunch of slimy, disgusting orange growths all over my junipers next to my patio. Please tell me they are not going to kill my junipers as they are shielding us from a bad neighbor’s view.
A: There are more than 7,000 rust fungus species affecting plants. Many of the species are very host-specific and can’t be transmitted to non-host plants. At the same time, many rust species infect two different kinds of plants during their life cycle. The spores produced while on one host can only affect the one other specific host plant species. In the cedar-apple rust group, several species of junipers may be infected, and then plants in the rose family, such as apples, pears, hawthorns, quince and a few other species, may be infected.
