I'm getting brown spots on branches and bud tips.
It may be a watering issue. I've not been on top of that lately, and I'm in AZ at the moment - the time of year when it's chilly at night but still warmish during the day, and getting dryer the closer to Christmas we get. I've been advised before on having a period of dormancy, but it hasn't been consistently cool enough for that. I'm hoping that it'll be like that in January.
The reason I'm not sure is that it's a watering issue is because today when I was watering & inspecting, I noticed that there was little specks of white stuff underneath the scales (?) of the branches and buds. I also found an old spiderweb (spider included, lol), and that some of the older scales had turned grey and were falling off.
It reminds me of wooly adelgids, which I have seen on hemlocks and some pines in the east. It didn't seem that large though. I'd upload pictures, but I'm not sure I can actually get a clear picture of something that small...
It may be mold, because I also spritz the branches with water to keep the humidity up. However, the tree is spending most of its time outside, so I wouldn't think that the water would stick around long enough to cause mold.
Is there something simple I can spray on the branches to get rid of any pests, yet still not harm the tree?
-Storm
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Stormwatcher
- Full Member
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- Location: Myerstown, PA
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Gnome
- Super Green Thumb
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- Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
- Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A
Storm,
I'm not sure about the white deposits. You asked about spraying, I recently purchased a bottle of Neem Oil concentrate. It seems to be a pretty benign type of pesticide. I can't specifically recommend it for Junipers yet as the product is new to me and my Juniper has been trouble free.
The browning needles may be nothing more than the natural aging process of the tree. No needle will last forever they naturally brown and fall away as part of the shoots age and become woody.
Norm
I'm not sure about the white deposits. You asked about spraying, I recently purchased a bottle of Neem Oil concentrate. It seems to be a pretty benign type of pesticide. I can't specifically recommend it for Junipers yet as the product is new to me and my Juniper has been trouble free.
The browning needles may be nothing more than the natural aging process of the tree. No needle will last forever they naturally brown and fall away as part of the shoots age and become woody.
Norm