Mayhaw trees

I have heard many older folks talk about Mayhaw trees (C.aestivalis & C.opaca) and how the fruit used to be made into delicious jellies. They seem to not be so popular anymore, but there are going to be some available at a plant sale next week and I was considering buying a couple. My main concern is rust, how big of a problem is it on this species?

Cedar rust will be a problem if you have Eastern Red Cedar. I found three link with the information you seek. I wish I could give you the results of any personal esperience, but my two mayhaw are only 1' high. So far, so good.

http://horticulture.tamu.edu/newsletters/hortupdate/lgnmay99.html
http://www.mayhaw.org/propagation.html
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/b992-w.htm#mayhaw

Thanks bettydee, I didn't know there was a whole website devoted to mayhaws. I'll have to see what the prices are like, if they're expensive I'll probably pass them up or try to find some local berries and start some from seeds.

The silicicola subspecies of J. virginiana is native and ubiquitous here, but I have never seen cedar-apple rust on it. I thought that there were native hawthorns here including mayhaws. Back in Illinois almost every J. virginiana I saw would be afflicted, some spectacularly (those bright orange growths being visible from quite a way off.

Mark., puzzled, or maybe just unobservant

I'm only a couple of miles north of the FL panhandle myself and the southern red cedars are everywhere here too. I also have never seen any rust on them. Maybe there is just not enough hawthorns around locally to support the fungus? I was going to try my hand at growing native crabapples, but the darned seeds ended up molding.

Escambiaguy,
It will be mayhaw harvest season very soon---last of April. When you collect seeds I suggest that you wash them off and plant immediatey, not letting them dry out at all. A mayhaw grower friend who sells them told me this.
Sugarcane52 in NW FL