I still feel the brown is from overworking branches. The branches that did not brown were not over worked.
They are easy, just follow what BN said about potting up and not pruning till after recovery, be it 1, 2 or 3 years.
If on the side of bad luck it took 2 yrs, by then you can ease into it. Your picture...
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Is not of a robust ready to handle going from nursery stock to this style in one go of it "tree".
You said you had your eye on another one. Get that, let this one rest. Post a few pictures here, and we can
help you get to this amount of styling with incredible health. Whether you want to style it or pot it is up to you.
I do it either way depending on what I have in front of me.
Besides over working branches, the juniper may SHED branches as a survival mode when overly stressed.
Say you didn't overwork the branches, but this happened due to too many insults on a less than robust subject.
Then the subject may shed foliage to try to stay alive.
That said what % of root mass did you remove?
Working on nursery soil I personally remove about 60% and rake out half or more of the remainder
keeping the crown in tact (for addressing more with each repot) + ~40% of the original mass.
I do this here when the dogwoods are beginning to bloom and the growth tips are juicy and plump.
When you pinch a tip it is ripe with sticky juices and hard freezes typically a thing of the past that year.
You might!! have to cut a low branch or 2 off to pot it up, but other than that, keep the solar panels in place.
For hard pruning I have had excellent results in similar grow zone as you, doing that in July then wiring in October.
This can be done the year prior to potting up...or the year after potting up when runners are proof of...
...COLLECTED ENERGY. Like a bucking horse or steer ready to rodeo.
Potting up, November is awfully close to hard freezes for us most years, for the roots to make good recovery.
Sarcastically, my wife said I needed another juniper, so I got 3 :p All 3 are in 3g cans. Left to right Sargent, Robusta (tall like a Hollywood juniper) and Gold Lace. There's a nursery not far from here in the Green Bottom Lesage area that sells wholesale from Columbus, Cincinnati -...
www.bonsainut.com
In this thread ^ you can get a feel of how much root work you can get away with as described above the year following
a hard cut back in July. I still have not reduced the foliage, but plan to this Summer then wire in Fall.
As in the context of this thread, no typically not. Other reasons for brown tips like incorrect pinching, sheering, insect damage, yes
interior foliage will take over, if issues are corrected. Root issues like root rot hard to say, depends on extent of damage are correction.
I had a single branch do exactly what you have had happen here this Spring, that I wired the crap out of last Fall.
I failed to take a picture, but the remaining parts not overworked, are plumping up nicely. If you set a branch, then change your mind
and say rotate it 180º back to where it was, will do this most of the time.
EDIT: and to address another question of yours about back budding. Back budding will occur on old wood that receives Sun light
where there is strong growth otherwise. In other words, if the tree is stressed, no. If there is happy foliage and Sun light, maybe. Maybe not.
I find back buds on juniper to be slower than I have patience for, and I'm pretty patient.
. Have a great weekend and by all means post pictures here of the other one you're getting.
