First juniper, not sure

[Sephiro]

Hey guys!
I went to the local nursery to get a couple hydrangeas for the front yard last weekend… and I left with a shimpaku juniper. Haha

This is my first juniper and from all the posts and articles I’ve read since, it’s showing signs of overwatering. Between the branches and tips is yellowing. Just wanted to get your takes on it, maybe these discolourations are actually just normal, due to too much sun, over or under watering or something else. I’ve combed through and see no signs of little critters. The soil seems to be mostly organic. Not sure. Any feedback is welcome!

 

[ZombieNick]

The browning on the inside like that would suggest spider mites, seems to be a common theme with junipers posted today. I made a post here that might help you identify if that is the case:

Sick Junipers

All three of my junipers are looking rough this season. The Blau usually looks pretty bad coming out of winter but then has put on some healthy growth by now. I’m hoping I didn’t spread some fungus to the other two. The procumbans was cut back this spring and the Kishu was repotted. All are...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[sorce]

Start weekly rotations of 6 different chemicals!

Just kidding, that would be stupid!

Looks fine.

Sorce

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Looks perfectly fine to me. How is the soil? Is it draining well? Do you see evidence of any insect or pest activity? Is it getting full sunlight outdoors?

 

[Potawatomi13]

Little bit of yellowing appears as natural varigation of foliage. Possibly will see more in various places. If so is harmless. However whiter looking areas no idea. Juniper normally SUN trees so plenty SUN should be no problem. Shade is. Substrate should be damp; never wet or dry. Tree looks basically healthy. Did you repot tree?

 

[Shibui]

Agree.
The gold color is almost certainly some sort of variegation - not harmful and if it persists could be valuable as a new variety.
Brownish/whitish interior can be related to pests but also normal as older foliage scales die off.
The new tips look very healthy so I would not be worried about this one.
Under watering is more common in summer so be careful not to with hold water too much. Under watering will kill a tree in a day but overwatering takes months to affect a tree.

 

[penumbra]

The browning on the inside like that would suggest spider mites

Spider mites infect the new foliage.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

The browning on the inside like that would suggest spider mites, seems to be a common theme with junipers posted today. I made a post here that might help you identify if that is the case:

Sick Junipers

All three of my junipers are looking rough this season. The Blau usually looks pretty bad coming out of winter but then has put on some healthy growth by now. I’m hoping I didn’t spread some fungus to the other two. The procumbans was cut back this spring and the Kishu was repotted. All are...

www.bonsainut.com

Doesn’t look like spider mites. Could be fungal, could be lack of nutrients or just some variegation showing up.

 

[Sephiro]

Looks perfectly fine to me. How is the soil? Is it draining well? Do you see evidence of any insect or pest activity? Is it getting full sunlight outdoors?

Soil seems to be a mix, more on the organic side, and drainage is alright. It is getting direct sun from roughly 8am-2pm. Have not seen any pests, unless they are microscopic. I tried the white paper smear test that was suggested lower, no evidence.

 

[Sephiro]

Little bit of yellowing appears as natural varigation of foliage. Possibly will see more in various places. If so is harmless. However whiter looking areas no idea. Juniper normally SUN trees so plenty SUN should be no problem. Shade is. Substrate should be damp; never wet or dry. Tree looks basically healthy. Did you repot tree?

Thanks for the reply! My heart tells me it is healthy as well. As it is my first I wanted to make sure it was not begining signs of something serious that could be nipped right away through proper care. I have not repotted the tree. Only thing ive done since purchase was remove the bark and tip from an old dead branch.

 

[ZombieNick]

Thanks for the correction guys, still learning. Wish I could edit my post as to not mislead anyone who may find this thread later.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Soil seems to be a mix, more on the organic side, and drainage is alright. It is getting direct sun from roughly 8am-2pm. Have not seen any pests, unless they are microscopic. I tried the white paper smear test that was suggested lower, no evidence.

Seems ok to me. Try to get it more sun if possible. My junipers and pines get direct sun from 6am to 6pm

 

[Sephiro]

Update!
The tree has been in full sun all week, and I have been letting it dry out a little more between watering and all of the grey/beige spots seem to have turned green! Tree looks happy and healthy. Thanks for all the advice guys!