I have a dozen browning, ~40 year old, 3' junipers on a few hundred square feet of south facing bank. They are browning. The nursery folks say its old age but a friend has healthy junipers as old as he is (80 years old). This year I fertilized removed all dead wood and lots needles built up over the years. I left much of the cut debris on the ground as a mulch. The shrubs look much better but continue to brown. Do I replace them or is there more I can do to rejuvenate them? Photos are from 2009 before pruning and today after pruning and continued browning.
This is fairly common on junipers around the Fraser Valley, by my observation. I had some similar plants that I took out years ago, partly due to this issue. I have seen it in the Okanagan as well. I believe that this could be a fungal blight that seems to focus on the young growth & tips of branches. Your efforts to improve the plants overall seem like the best idea. I would remove all the debris & put it in the municipal green waste though. Mulch with clean, disease-free composted material from a garden centre or landscape supplier. I don't think there is any control. I gave up & replanted with lavenders, that now have a root rot. No winning! Anyone with more info out there? Could this be the same thing that produces similar symptoms on my "Leylandi" hedge?
