is it just the cold temps?

[benw3790]

My junipers and azaleas haven't been looking as vigorous lately.. Easiest way to put it, they just don't look as healthy as they did a month ago.. The foliage is turning more yellowish on the junis and a purpleish/red yellow color on the azaleas.. Is it just from the temperatures dropping? I'm in zone 7b haven't done anything drastic to them lately and have been putting them in the garage on the nights it gets down below 25 degrees. All my trees are sitting on the ground and Ive pretty !uvh left them there since the beginning of November. Only bringing certain ones inside on really really cold nights that we've had.

 

[lordy]

Sounds like what happens to evergreens when they go dormant. I might caution you against going in and out of the garage when the temps drop. They can usually take the freezes. But leaving them out and getting them used to freezing is part of getting ready to be cold or frozen for an extended period. Keep them on the ground, mulch the pots to help keep them from getting warm, keep them in the shade, and never water a frozen rootball, or when you know they will freeze in the next 48 hrs. Just general guidelines.

 

[Dav4]

Sounds like what happens to evergreens when they go dormant. I might caution you against going in and out of the garage when the temps drop. They can usually take the freezes. But leaving them out and getting them used to freezing is part of getting ready to be cold or frozen for an extended period. Keep them on the ground, mulch the pots to help keep them from getting warm, keep them in the shade, and never water a frozen rootball, or when you know they will freeze in the next 48 hrs. Just general guidelines.

What he said...
All my trees have seen single digits (not this year, yet), but none have seen the inside of my garage.

 

[MrFancyPlants]

Really. Don't water when it is below freezing? Whoops, hope I didn't do in my collection earlier. I was thinking it might add a little temp buffer.

 

[lordy]

Really. Don't water when it is below freezing? Whoops, hope I didn't do in my collection earlier. I was thinking it might add a little temp buffer.

It's like watering an icecube. What's the point?

 

[edprocoat]

I have seen Junipers get a maroon tinge to the foliage from the cold but yellow on Juniper foliage is usually the start of the foliage dying. Is it all over the foliage or just on certain branches? If its just certain branches I would remove them so the plant does not put all its energy into trying to save dying limbs and weaken the plant further in the process.

ed

 

[Dav4]

I have seen Junipers get a maroon tinge to the foliage from the cold but yellow on Juniper foliage is usually the start of the foliage dying. Is it all over the foliage or just on certain branches? If its just certain branches I would remove them so the plant does not put all its energy into trying to save dying limbs and weaken the plant further in the process.

ed

I wouldn't prune away any foliage unless it is clearly dead. The color change is probably normal for the variety and season, but if it isn't, pruning will make no difference to the overall vigor of the tree, and you may end up removing branches that were important to the design that could have stayed.

 

[Nybonsai12]

not sure about the junis but my azaleas change color this time of year due to the season. They come back just fine in the spring.

 

[Beng]

Yellow on an azalea is old growth that will be replaced next spring. If you have pale yellow leaves which are yellow from tip to branch barely hanging on you can remove them by hand if they are loose. If it's holding onto them leave them be. Purple/Brown/Red foliage on an azalea is normal fall color. Loss of old leaves and them turning yellow in the fall and eventually falling off is normal. Junipers generally become slightly paler and less vivid, under most climates they don't turn brown. However in extremes arctic environments junipers can loose there green color almost completely.

 

[benw3790]

Yellow on an azalea is old growth that will be replaced next spring. If you have pale yellow leaves which are yellow from tip to branch barely hanging on you can remove them by hand if they are loose. If it's holding onto them leave them be. Purple/Brown/Red foliage on an azalea is normal fall color. Loss of old leaves and them turning yellow in the fall and eventually falling off is normal. Junipers generally become slightly paler and less vivid, under most climates they don't turn brown. However in extremes arctic environments junipers can loose there green color almost completely.

Thanks.. That fits my question perfectly.. The junipers don't look like they're dying they just don't look as green. And the satsuki azalea is really changing some fall colors and dropping leaves which I know is normal. And the other azaleas, some of the leaves are having black spots or turning dark purple. Thought they were dying.

 

[coh]

My procumbens junipers have faded to a somewhat maroon/yellowish color with the onset of cold weather, but shimpakus are still pretty green.

 

[benw3790]

My procumbens junipers have faded to a somewhat maroon/yellowish color with the onset of cold weather, but shimpakus are still pretty green.

Yep, mine are procumbens.. I figured it was normal but this is my "first" winter. So I'm very cautious, and actually kinda nervous.