Junipers needing some help

[G.L. in Ont]

Hello all - GREAT forum. Very informative.

These junipers were planted in the summer of 2004 and were trimmed about a month after being planted. As you can see they are not doing so well. We have been spraying them with an organic seaplant extract 0-0-4 fertilizer. They are in the back yard which faces north.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. If there's other info you need to know please just ask.

Cheers, GL

 

[NYCHA FORESTER]

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/fidls/phomopsis/phomopsis.htm

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3056.html

In the past (years ago when I worked in the field) I would mix a foliar fertilizer and a fungicide labled for this critter and got some decent results.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The tips are looking good, the older needles are what look dead. Doesn't look like tip blight to me.
It is planted too deep, which is a stress factor.
What did it look like before trimming? Was it that shape?

 

[G.L. in Ont]

Thanks

Thanks Nycha and Mike.

I don't know exactly what they looked like prior to being trimmed. I will have to assume they were more of a conical shape and they were trimmed to look like this. Hope that helps.

GL

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Did the browning come on slowly? How did it look last summer?

 

[G.L. in Ont]

Junipers

The browning appeared to start last summer.

Mike, are you saying you don't think it's the phomopsis blight that Nycha referenced?

Thanks again, GL

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

No, I don't think it is.
My guess is it's a planting issue.
It may not really matter though, because when evergreens brown out like that, the best you can hope for is the green areas to keep growing. Those dead areas stay dead.
You could try digging around the base with a hand trowel. Dig down until you find the root flare, a natural widening at the base of the trunk. I know it's too deep now because the lower branches are coming out of the ground, and the flare is below the lowest branch. You may find twine wrapped around the trunk, girdling it, or roots wrapped around the trunk doing the same thing.
Whenever you cover the trunk with dirt, you're asking for trouble. (google girdling roots, or planting depth)
While you're down there, look at the soil and roots a little. Is it too wet or too dry? Are there any new roots since planting? Do you see any rotting roots?
It's possible that walkway created a waterproof pot, so to speak, that won't let water drain. Or maybe it's so porous, it's dry as a desert.
If you're so inclined, dig around and post pictures.

 

[G.L. in Ont]

Pics of digging

Hi - here are some pics I took after digging back at the base of the trunk. There is lots of what appears to be very compacted sand - it's an orangey colour. The compaction made it hard to scrape it back. Hopefully you can see the roots - they appear to be an inch or so under the topsoil.

Am wondering if I should do some drainage tests.

Thanks again for the help on this one.

Cheers, GL

 

[G.L. in Ont]

more specific

Mike, to answer your questions:

You may find twine wrapped around the trunk, girdling it, or roots wrapped around the trunk doing the same thing.
** did not appear to see any twine
Is it too wet or too dry?
** appeared to be quite wet
Are there any new roots since planting?
** couldn't see any but it was hard to tell
Do you see any rotting roots?
** again hard to tell as I didn't scrape back that much due to how hard it was

Hope that helps.

Cheers, GL

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

There are what look like new roots, which is encouraging.
The compacted soil could be part of the problem, but Junipers seem to do alright in dry sandy soils.
What I can't see in the pictures is the root flare. If you look at a tree in the forest, it has a natural widening at the base where the roots come off the trunk and grow out horizontally. At this point, is where the soil level should be.
When the trunk is buried, it will often grow adventitious roots. If left buried too deep, the tree dies, or possibly these new adventitious roots become the new root flare and the roots below die off.
Correcting planting depth is tricky. If you can dish out the soil, that's easiest. You need to find the flare. Any small roots above the new soil line can be cut off, unless they have gotten big, then removing them can kill the tree.
The main reason to find the flare is to see if there are any girdling roots and preventing new root from becoming girdling roots. If the soil is off the trunk, roots can't grow around it. Roots don't grow up into the air. You also want to make sure all the planting material (twine and synthetic burlap) was removed.
A tree trunk grows in diameter. If it can't, it dies. That's why all trees have a root flare, to change the angle of the wood from vertical to horizontal. To grow in diameter it only needs to push soil up. If the wood is vertical in the soil, it can't easily grow. In compacted soil, it is even harder to grow.
If dishing the soil out won't work, it may need to be replanted. Completely dig out the tree and set it at the proper level. But I don't envy you having to dig in that tight little hole and compacted soil.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The original ball should be easy to find, it's usually a different soil. The root flare is usually well below the soil level of the ball. Most trees need to be planted up 5"- 12" from the top of the ball.
Your excavation is down to the lowest branch, the flare is still deeper.
It looks like those roots you hit are adventitious roots growing out of trunk tissue.

Heres an example. See the roots growing off the trunk? And still no flare. It's down in the soil.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Mike, to answer your questions:


Do you see any rotting roots?
** again hard to tell as I didn't scrape back that much due to how hard it was



Cheers, GL

The lanscapers might have runa mechanical compactor over the roots when the made the patio.
Compacted soil is very bad for trees because they need to respire. Roots give off CO2 and take in O2. When the soil is watered the air spaces are filled with water, pushing out the CO2. As the water leaves, new O2 is pulled into the soil.
If the soil has all the air spaces compacted out, the roots can't breath.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Sorry about the multiple posts, too much coffee...
You might want to move this sickly tree to a less prominent spot in your yard and replace it, this time prepare the planting hole soil better and planting the new tree at the proper height.
You also asked about a drainage test. This sounds like a great idea. If the water just sits there, compaction is probably your problem.