Without pix we can only speculate.

Well, you certainly know the colour change that many (or most) arborvitae undergo in the cold season, that's very comparable.

I am a bit disappointed, because like many, I find the warm season blue of the cultivar very attractive. I wonder if there is something I could do.

I have used this small dwarf conifer in many client designs over the years and the only time I have see it change color is when it turns a dusty brown from a damaged stem or impending death from drought stress. Otherwise, it remains an intense slivery blue all year long.

Alright then, I'll water the two every day until ground freeze, thanks!

Look at the potting soil if you think there is a moisture problem. Otherwise I've also seen this variety become a different, more purple shade during winter. Same as in some of these pictures. (1) juniperus squamata blue star - Bing images

Aha, I see the tint in the second and other pictures in the link, so may be the colour change is more likely to happen in the colder zones and I am in the coldest zone for the cultivar (perhaps even half a zone too cold) Both specimens are in the ground with very good drainage, there is very little danger of overwatering, so I'll try to keep them blue that way, if that is possible at all.

in NOVEMBER.. in ground freeze areas.. there is NO REASON to water every other day ... give them one good drink.. and thats it until next july .. when the heat of summer starts to build ...

the plants are nearing dormancy ... they simply dont need the water.. like they did in july and august.. when the damage was done ...

blue color is a wax on the leaf of ANY plant .. when you wear off the blue wax .. you have a green plant under it... or browning if the plant is stressed ...

wax wears off from handling.. digging from grower.. hoiking around while trucked ... intense heat and even by overhead watering ... etc ...

new wax will develop on new growth in spring.. eventually hiding any uglies ...

dont be surprised.. based on the stresses from the day it left the grower.. that more damage may show up after a ground freeze winter.. its near impossible to assign when the damage happened .. but you are already seeing it now.. so winter might make it appear worse ...

and all that stress.. the plant is not hungry.. fert is not a response.. especially this time of year in ground freeze areas ... we want the plant slowing down.. not getting all juiced up and active ..

you can not make up for what already happened. so dont drown the dam things ....

ken

Is there anyone here growing the cultivar in USDA zone 4? Please comment on any color changes in the cold season, thanks!

I’m in z4 and have a few in the garden; I’ll keep an eye on them. Up here, they’re usually buried in snow by Christmas.

How about the color just prior to snow cover?

I haven’t seen any change thus far. It has been unusually mild the past couple of weeks, but we also experienced some unusually cold weather in early October. Russian Cypress has alteady gone through its color change, but I’ve seen nothing on Blue Star Junipers, which are now about 3’ in diameter.

can you please add some pix of your plants ...

there are look alikes in the group.. i wonder if you have 2 different plants ...

to repeat.. after a hard summer.. the BLUE coloration is variable ... new blue will come out with new growth in spring ... there is no use fixating on it now ...

ken

I have one small Juniperus horizontalis (unknown cultivar) that is still bright blue green since summer. But all my other junipers (creeping or otherwise) have turned to their 'winter bronze' a couple of weeks ago. Non have a moisture disparity or lack thereof.

We've had a few hard frosts (20'sf) since early October but has been 60's & 70's for a few weeks now.

I like these and planted several two years. A few had "off-color" that resumed normal color the following summer. As Ken said, the waxy covering changes in thickness based on stress/etc. Mine were "rescued" from the clearance bench at Home Depot and look quite impressive en masse, with hopes of them growing together like a low hedge. Similarly, my yellow-colored conifers don't take on full color until the following year when they "get used to the conditions."

Mbrad, I hope you’ll share a picture or two of your planting. While less than a thousand words, you describe an interesting scene.