Juniper Needles turning black

[YaBoyMyth]

I’ve just noticed today that something is going on with my juniper. It looks black in some spots? Not even brown it looks blackened and dead. What could cause this??

 

[YaBoyMyth]

This is all on one branch that would eventually be taken off anyway as it’s super low on the trunk and would be used as a sacrifice branch anyway, but if I can keep it for that purpose I’d like to

 

[Shibui]

Mites or scale insects are both possible cause for blackened foliage. Both will require really close examination - magnifying glass if possible.
Damage from recent wiring is another less likely cause.

 

[YaBoyMyth]

Mites or scale insects are both possible cause for blackened foliage. Both will require really close examination - magnifying glass if possible.
Damage from recent wiring is another less likely cause.

What would I look for if it was mites or scale? Would neem oil help treat this? I did wire pretty recently and it was my first wire ever so I know I was a little rough with the tree. Maybe I pinched there to hold on to that branch while I wired another? Could pinching cause this?

 

[penumbra]

Its a bit difficult to see what's actually going on here. The dead foliage is last years and it might be shedding, but it could well be a fungus. Insect damage is quite unlikely by the appearance and location of the compromised foliage.

 

[YaBoyMyth]

Its a bit difficult to see what's actually going on here. The dead foliage is last years and it might be shedding, but it could well be a fungus. Insect damage is quite unlikely by the appearance and location of the compromised foliage.

I thought it might be old growth as well that needed to shed but if you look at the second picture the dark spot farthest on the right is an active growing tip that’s dying

 

[penumbra]

What would I look for if it was mites or scale?

Definitely not mites and scale is unlikely. I see no scale and the pictures are clear enough to show them if they were present.
Mites attack to tender newest growth and cause yellow stippling, not black.

 

[penumbra]

Could pinching cause this?

No.

 

[YaBoyMyth]

No.

So then what should I be looking for

 

[YaBoyMyth]

So should I cut this branch off? Need some advice here

 

[penumbra]

So then what should I be looking for

The roots are probably key. It is perhaps too wet and your climate is nearly tropical unlike mine.
Probably a fungus but you need to hear more from those in your climate.

 

[Japonicus]

I thought it might be old growth as well

Last years growth is not old. This is too close to a new bud for the plant to shed due to age.
Mancozeb is the go to for juniper diseases. While I cannot identify a specific disease, I know
this is askew and needs attention.

The roots are probably key.

This is viable and worth mention.
Did you @YaBoyMyth pot this juniper?
If so when? and how did you go about it, like how is the old root mass situated in the new soil?
Also a full picture of the plant and pot might be helpful, maybe not, but wiring issues definitely yield brown
which is same colour as when shedding old shaded out interior grow.

In your picture if you count the same way I do (one bifurcated growth tip, 2 buds is one)
the 4th growth tip which is in the shade at the time the photo was taken, is also affected, new growth.
Is this a cutting???

 

[YaBoyMyth]

Last years growth is not old. This is too close to a new bud for the plant to shed due to age.
Mancozeb is the go to for juniper diseases. While I cannot identify a specific disease, I know
this is askew and needs attention.

This is viable and worth mention.
Did you @YaBoyMyth pot this juniper?
If so when? and how did you go about it, like how is the old root mass situated in the new soil?
Also a full picture of the plant and pot might be helpful, maybe not, but wiring issues definitely yield brown
which is same colour as when shedding old shaded out interior grow.

In your picture if you count the same way I do (one bifurcated growth tip, 2 buds is one)
the 4th growth tip which is in the shade at the time the photo was taken, is also affected, new growth.
Is this a cutting???

So this was potted last October. I did the potting. I got this from a mall so I’m sure that it’s a rooted cutting. When I got it I basically bare rooted it because the soil it was in was absolutely terrible and compacted. No root work as far as cutting or removal. The root mass is pretty small. Not much at least as of last October. And yes I noticed that new growth was affected as well. I removed all the affected branches but was still able to keep the overall sacrifice branch because I saw no infection or weird looking colors. After I applied some diluted neem oil.

 

[Japonicus]

Here is what wiring damage looks like on a procumbens
so I would rule that out. It took most all of Winter to manifest.
Another branch was entirely brown, fading more and more, mostly in March
and I wired this branch last Fall.