Help with juniper issue

Is this a fungus, root, or an overwatering issue?

Back story: I bought three parsonii junipers last fall. The automatic watering system had overwatered them. I bought them thinking that for $12 each I could risk losing them if I couldn't help them recover.

One was slipped into a mix of bark and pumice. It has recovered. Two of them I combed the roots out and worked small (1/8") pumice particles into root ball then potted into a slightly larger container. One of those recovered, but the other has just sulked. I haven't done anything different on any of them. I pruned out all the dead and weak growth to let light in, watered, and fertilized. You can see how even the bad looking one has had new growth and backbudding.

Looks like a blight like twig blight or chestnut blight.

ed

Have you checked for spider mites?

Scott

I agree, some form of blight...or other kind of fungal infection (which wouldn't be odd with over watering) I would remove the dead stuff. Prognosis, not good. Yet is that baby foliage? If it gets enough growth out it might recover. When junipers get this sick (which is very sick) they take quite some time to kick back......or they don't.

It doesn't look like tip blight - that results from the most common fungal infections in my area, but the browning starts with the new growth. This looks as though the interior growth has browned. It certainly still might be fungal, but do a simple check for mites before treating with harsh funicides. A bad infestation could cause the symptoms you see.

Scott

This link might be useful to you

http://www.plantpath.ksu.edu/doc753.ashx

armetisius said:

This link might be useful to you

http://www.plantpath.ksu.edu/doc753.ashx

Click to expand...

My first line of thought is to separate that plant and find a treatment for canker. Seen it before and looks to me to be the problem. Being a fungus the water problem would encourage it.

Grimmy