Sudden browning of juniper tips

[sbutler]

Does anyone know what would cause sudden browning of the tips of a Shimpaku juniper. The tree is about 20 years old and put out lots of new growth this summer. Water drained fairly well and I was going to repot next spring. I hadn't checked the tree in a couple of days, but when I did, the lower branches on the lower right half of the tree had about 1/6th of their tips brown. I read an article titled "Emergency Treatment" by Tomio Yamada where a juniper he had, had and entire branch turn brown then die. The problem with his tree was root rot. He mentioned foul smelling, mushy, roots as the problem. One of his suggestions was re-potting. I did this with 80% river gravel/20% fired clay. However, I didn't see the signs of root rot mentioned in the article, therefore, I didn't prune any of the roots. The roots were very damp however and probably had been that way for a week or so due to frequent rain. Question, is it possible that the tree was in the beginning stages of root rot and I simply did not notice it? Also, should I spray the tree with a fungicide? Any other advice would be welcome. Thanks in advance.

Steve

[sbutler]

The browning of the shimpaku juniper has stopped, and a few green buds are starting to sprout in the place of the dead branches. I lost 3/4 of the crown, but, it looks like it will recover. I suspect that I was over watering it and after re-potting let it dry out completely between waterings. What's strange is I was watering a couple of my green mound junipers just as much, with the same soil, and they look perfectly healthy.

Steve
Zone 7

[centaura]

It is often hard to know what exactly is wrong with a tree without seeing it or getting really detailed care information. You might have been at the beginning stages of rootrot, if only one branch was affected it might have been that one root was starting to go - junipers are often connected directly between branches and specific roots, unlike other species. Or, it might have been something else - junipers are susceptible to borers - which could have taken out that branch. It's good that the tree is recovering, this is not the best time of year to repot unless it's an emergency.

As for your other junipers reacting differently, that is a part of learning your specific trees and species. Sometimes different varieties of the same species use water differently, or there is differences in how many roots are in the pot. There could have been original soil in the rootmass somewhere, or a rodent could have dug into the pot and damaged roots. Sometimes it's hard to know what exactly is different, though observation can sometimes fill in the blank.

-Cat

[sbutler]

Thanks for the reply Cat. I didn't know about the root/branch relationship in junipers.

[jpaulhamus]

Glad to hear the Juniper is pulling through. It can be so hard to guess what is going on with a tree without seeing it, knowing all about it's care, etc. When I took a class at Nature's Way they mentioned the branch and root relationship too, in a lot of trees actually not just Junipers. They said if a branch seems to be failing to check the roots directly below it. There may be a big air pocket with no soil or something going on with the roots there and that is causing problems with the branch above it. So that's always a good place to start.

[sbutler]

Thanks for the advice jpaulhamas. I didn't know that about the branch/root relationship. I'll make sure there are no air pockets for the proper repot this spring.