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Upright blue point juniper health #591086

Asked August 21, 2019, 7:39 PM EDT

I planted several of these upright junipers last Fall and I am not sure they are ok or not!   For the most part they appear healthy, until you get up close and see that all the inner needles/smaller branches are brown!   Are they slowly dying from the inside out?

El Paso County Colorado

Expert Response


Hi,

Thank you for your question about the inner needles and smaller branches turning brown on your blue point juniper .  It looks like the inner parts of the lower branches are turning brown and the top of the shrub looks healthy.  The death of a woody plant from the bottom up and inside out can indicate overwatering, oxygen starvation of the roots.  Please see the fact sheet below under the subject, ‘Overwatering’. 

https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/environmental-disorders-of-woody-plants-2-932/

An inexpensive houseplant moisture meter can be purchased online or in garden centers to check the moisture level in your soil outdoors. 

I noticed mulch over the root ball of your newly planted juniper. Please see the GardenNotes below about, ‘Mulching Trees’.

https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/658.pdf

I have also included GardenNotes, #635, ‘Care of Recently Planted Trees’.

https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/635.pdf

 






 

Barbara    Replied August 23, 2019, 2:53 PM EDT

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