Q: I’m seeing orangish colored spikes  appearing on some of the fruit of my Bradford Pear trees.  Is this a bad thing, and if so, what should I do about it?

A: Your Bradford pear fruit is infected with cedar-quince rust. This disease requires the presence of nearby juniper or other needled evergreen shrubs in the vicinity.

It’s not a terribly bad thing unless you’re growing edible pears nearby. It won’t affect the flowering or health of your ornamental tree.

If you want to control it, pick off affected fruit and destroy them and examine juniper trees/bushes for brown warty galls.

Cedar – Quince Rust on Callery pear

cedar quince rust on pear

cedar quince rust on pear

cedar quince rust on juniper