Help with my Chinese Juniper

[Gabber]

Hey everyone!
I bought a Chinese Juniper (I don't know the more specific name) the 25th of April 2020 and I cut and wired the tree in june. Ever since I bought it, I feel like it lost a bit of colour. I don't think it's dead since it remains a certain shade of green and is not turning yellow or brown anywhere, but I feel like it's just gotten a little pale, which looks unhealthy. I didn't find anything similar to these descriptions on the internet, which is why I'm asking here for help.
I hope the pictures and informations below are helping you to identify the problem, but it is tricky to really capture the true shade with my phone camera.
To give you an impression of the colour, I put a Chinese Juniper Blaauw (first picture left tree) and a Chinese Juniper Itoigawa (second picture left tree) next to it, for comparison. The last two pictures were taken end of july so the lighting is different.
The tree has always been outside, in a sunny place, but I put it in a kind of barn since new years eve becaue the temperature dropped under 0°C (= 32°F) and I thought an unhealthy tree might struggle more with the cold temperatures. In the barn, temperatures are basically just one or two degrees higher , so definitely not too warm. I live in hardiness zone 7b (in europe) if I identified it correctly.

 

[Shibui]

Some junipers change color a bit when they are dormant in winter. You seem to be able to grow other junipers so assume you are doing all the right things which only leaves winter and possibly soil. To be honest I can't see any real cause for concern.

Junipers have no problem with temps around freezing and can probably cope with much lower temps. I would move it back out with the others as junipers seem to do far better outside than inside.

Check the soil. Trees that have been in the pot for a long time get root bound and do not grow well. Repotting to replace most of the old soil and make room for new roots can make a big difference to how a tree grows. It sounds like it is about the right time for repotting in your area.
BTW. adding a location (country, district or town) to your profile allows other members to see which part of the world you are in and allows us to tailor answers more to your conditions.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

It doesn't look bad.

Sorce

 

[Gabber]

Some junipers change color a bit when they are dormant in winter. You seem to be able to grow other junipers so assume you are doing all the right things which only leaves winter and possibly soil. To be honest I can't see any real cause for concern.

Junipers have no problem with temps around freezing and can probably cope with much lower temps. I would move it back out with the others as junipers seem to do far better outside than inside.

Check the soil. Trees that have been in the pot for a long time get root bound and do not grow well. Repotting to replace most of the old soil and make room for new roots can make a big difference to how a tree grows. It sounds like it is about the right time for repotting in your area.
BTW. adding a location (country, district or town) to your profile allows other members to see which part of the world you are in and allows us to tailor answers more to your conditions.

Thank you for your tips, I checked the roots when it was possible, since it was freezing before. The roots don't look healthy and after some research, I think it's root rot. So I'm going to repot it.
Now I am not sure which soil to pick or what to mix, because it seems everyone on the internet uses different mixes.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I don't see any worrying issues, nothing that hints towards root rot at all. Blaauw is always darker and more blue than itoigawa and if you keep the two next to each other, the itoigawa will look a pale yellow.
Heck, even compared to regular chinensis, itoigawa looks yellowish by default.

Since your username looks familiar to a person from the NL's, I suggest you check out if you can buy some vulcastrat. It's a good all purpose soil of 1:1:1 lava rock, pumice and granite, already mixed. Some bags have been poorly sifted, others are perfectly sized. Compared to akadama, it's cheap too. My junipers seem to love it, as do my pines.

 

[ibakey]

I have a chinese juniper too and since I had it for about 2 years plus, it had turned from dark green to pale green. Every spring it will grow out with darker green shoots before it will turn pale green before long.
I have no idea what is causing it but my theory is that it does not have enough sunlight perhaps, as my bonsais are on my balcony.

Its still alive and grows well every spring but remains this pale colour.
Hopefully someone with more experience with this can chime in.