Juniper issues

11 years ago

Hi folks and thanks for taking the time to try to help me!

I believe I own some sort of juniper that is not looking good. I am in zone 5b, greater Montreal area. I could not tell you how old this tree is, but I don't believe it has ever received any maintenance, though I did cut some lower branches that were pretty dead looking and in my way... It is situated in a southwest location and gets lots of sun.

Can you help me confirm the identity of this specimen so I can research it and figure out how I might be able to get it back in shape? I will otherwise probably remove it as it is not very pretty right now.

In case the images don't show it very well, there are either three trees or the tree has three trunks. The branches are all dried up, but there is a little bit of bluish "foliage" or "needles" (not sure what they are called) at the tips, which I suppose is this year's new growth.

Here's a closeup:

The bark:

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
remove it and plant another.. or something else ...

you will not live long enough to make it into much of anything ...

perhaps Juniperus scopulorum 'Wichita Blue' .. see link, flip to the images side

got rid of all mine due to juniper tip blight ...

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=juniper+witcha+blue&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=juniper+wichita+blue+problems
foreignlady (5b - Montreal area)
Original Author
11 years ago
Sorry I didn't reply sooner. I've taken your advice and cut it down. I feel so much better now that it is gone! Not only did it look shabby, but it covered up too much of the front of the house. My home somehow looks bigger with it gone.
I've started transplanting some black-eyed susans at the base and I think that will look much better than a tree did in that spot. Thanks again!
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
congrats ...

too many peeps fear change in the garden.. but once convinced to act.... end up happy with the result ...

ken
Embothrium
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Blue Rocky Mountain juniper cultivars often deteriorate on the inside in my area also, whereas there is a blue eastern red cedar cultivar present in a few older plantings here that still looks great in a bigger, long-established size. So I think it is a problem with the Rocky Mountain juniper being a dry climate species, that often doesn't hold up in moist climates. I haven't looked into it but maybe, like the eastern and western arborvitaes the two species diverged from a common ancestor, with the Rocky Mountain juniper becoming the dry (western) climate version and the eastern red cedar the wet (eastern) climate form.

Also at least one local tree expert thinks Rocky Mountain juniper is lime-loving, needs to be limed in moist climates with acidic soils - with this soil condition having an effect on plant fungal susceptibility, as is believed about daphnes, hellebores and peonies.
foreignlady (5b - Montreal area)
Original Author
11 years ago
I was disposing of the tree this morning and cutting the branches to make bundles. What beautiful bundles! If only it were thick, lush, and dense, it would truly be spectacular. But all spindly and splayed out like it was, with nothing but dry old bare branches in the middle, it simply did not look nice. Amazing color. What a shame. But my landscape is better without it.