We have a Juniperus virginiana that gets it every year and that's over many years, and nothing has ever happen to it. I don't think they harm the overall health the the tree, they just look weird.

Harmless to the Juniper. It is just a host plant to complete the fungi cycle.

Anyone harvesting apples from their orchard near by won't like the Juniper growing on your property..

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Cedar Apple Rust

The aliens live among us.
Just sayin'.

Prune the infected branch & burn it. If more begins showing up on other branches, that's a different story all together.

Dax

The tree looks like an older Eastern Red Cedar (Juniper Virginiana. That said, Cedar Apple Rust is not really harmful to the tree other than the small portion it infects. These are host trees to just part of its life cycle. Now if you or your neighbors have any apple trees, crabs, or hawthorn trees, it will infect those trees and can cause serious problems or even death to them if left untreated. Generally speaking, you do not want to have any junipers (cedars) within 1/2 to 2 mile radius of an apple orchard, or ideal even just a lone apple, crab or hawthorn tree.

So the answer to your question is no, it is not going to really harm no kill your cedar. One the galls are done producing spores, they die and fall off of the tree the next year. For the life cycle to be completed there must also be apple, crab or hawthorn trees near by, as the next of the two cycle stage is on those trees and not the cedars. Breaking that cycle is the best way to stop the disease.