A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion Plant pests and problems Dead looking branches on half of gold cone juniper

Last spring, I planted a gold cone juniper in a sunny location about 1' from the foundation of our home. Late last summer, the back part of the shrub appeared to be "dying" or drying up, with the foliage brittle and falling off. It is not just the branch tips, but the whole "branch" is affected. I cannot see any evidence of caterpillar.
This spring, there appeared to be some new foliage coming up where the brown stuff was, but other than that, it is not improving, and I would say 1/3 of the plant has dead foliage now. The front of the shrub appears to be very healthy.
I have been reading about different diseases, but I don't know if this is caused by pests or fungus. Any help I would appreciate.
Thanks! Nancy in northeast PA

Not too many diseases hit junipers. Assuming that it was planted correctly,my guess is that is one of two things or even a combination of them both.

1st would be spider mites. These are little tiny critters that do a lot of damage to junipers. They are very hard to see, as about 30 of them would fit on a match head. They love the hot days of the summer and tend to hit during times of high heat and drought. Keeping that in mind, if you were to water the plant every day, soaking the branches, a lot of the time you can control them by doing that alone.

The best way to check for spider mites would be to put a piece of plain white paper under the branch, then tap the branch a few times (pretty hard) and then examine the paper. They are much more visible running and scurrying around on a sheet of paper then they are hiding in the branches of a shrub. If you were to check too early you may not see them, it usually takes a few weeks of heat for them to start being a problem.


The other is that you planted the shrub on the south side of your house, and it is getting blasted by the sun. Not only from the direct rays but also the reflected rays coming off your house, giving it a double whammy. A foot away from the foundation is really too close to plant a shrub. Since the concrete of the building holds the heat, the ground at that point never really has a chance to cool off.

Mike,

Would lime seepage from the concrete in the foundation impact a juniper? I tried planting a juniper in a similar fashion many years ago and the symptoms sound similar. It ultimately turned up its toes and I dug it up. At the time I had no idea what happened. (It was on the east side of the house in a mostly shady area.)

It took years for me to find out that some plants don't like lime and I seemed to pick every plant that fell into that category. Just about everything I ever planted close to the foundation had to be dug up and replaced until someone casually mentioned the lime thing. I started putting a barrier down in the dirt next to the foundation to help control that. It seems to be working pretty well.....so far.

Not saying that's what it is. Just wondering.

Actually there are two schools of though about this. One says that concrete does have an effect on the acidity of the soil because of the lime leaching out of it. The other, (the one I believe) after the concrete has set, there is little to no effect at all. I have seen moss growing on concrete many times, and that can not grow in an alkaline environment.
Most people do not realize how much lime it takes to make a noticeable change in the pH of the soil. To lower the acidity 1 point on the scale, in a normal soil it would take 30 to 40 lbs of limestone per 1000 square feet. That is a lot more then what concrete leaches out. If in fact the soil near your plants is alkaline you can raise the acidity by amending the soil with sulfur.Adding lime or sulfur to amend the soil also takes 4 to 9 months to have an effect. It is a chemical change to the soil as opposed to adding fertilizer which is available immediately.

Thanks ever so much for what my Grandmother use to call "Edification and Delight." I'm always up for learning something new.