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Amelanchier gall #935491

Asked June 14, 2026, 8:01 PM EDT

My Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry had a delightfully robust flush of fruit this year followed by an equally robust flush of... gall? (powdery, spiky orange balls). Is there anything I should be doing / concerned about? Thank you!

Baltimore County Maryland

Expert Response

Hi Michelle,

That is  rust on the fruit of your serviceberry.  Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is the alternate host of several rust diseases. While there is nothing you can do to control the infection that is already on the serviceberry fruit now, you can try to mitigate future infections. Rust overwinters as mycelium in gall tissue on junipers. During warm, rainy spring weather, gelatinous horn-like protrusions emerge from the gall. Teliospores produced on the horns germinate and give rise to another spore type, basidiospores, which are carried by wind to fruit or leaves of the broadleaf host (in your case serviceberry).

Do you have any eastern red cedars on your property? If so, you could elect to remove them or locate and destroy any cedar galls on them by April 1, before the spore-producing tendrils are formed. That would help mitigate the rust, but even doing that may not eliminate it completely on your serviceberry because there are a lot of eastern red cedars around! 

Marie

An Ask Extension Expert Replied June 15, 2026, 4:46 PM EDT

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