Common Juniper super stressed?

[Per PF]

I collected this Juniperus Communis early autumn here in Sweden as per advice given. Tried to follow the collecting advice I could find: A tight grow box. Maximum amount of roots. 100% pumice with some sphagnum around some of the root areas. Protected from wind, strong sun and cold.

To be honest I had very little hope to begin with, from what I've heard about Juniper yamadori... I had it in winter storage (outside, heeled in, not much sun though) with some browning and dropping of needles. Come this summer it continued down that path and I thought it was done for..
Then this happened:

Juniper Mortis B.jpeg.jpeg

Juniper Mortis A.jpeg

So it has lost a lot of needles but is putting out new buds.
Could this be a sign of severe stress or are the roots finally recovering? It's in full sun and I try to mist it occasionally.

Here's how it looked after collection autumn 2020:

Juniper Mortis höst 2020 A.jpeg

Juniper Mortis höst 2020 B.jpeg

Any and all advice and/or opinions greatly appreciated! Cheers
/Per

[Moss]

Hi,

Can I ask why it is potted on the edge of the pit. Seems a little odd.

Nice little find.

[shibui]

New shoots now is a good sign. Sometimes trees use up resources stored in the tissues to make new shoots then drop dead when the energy is consumed but if it has managed to make some new roots the new shoots will help feed more roots and all will be well. Still too early to tell. I'd like to see stronger sustained growth before uncrossing fingers.
Dropping old needles is usual. Some will be end of life so would have dropped anyway. Others will be the tree trying to match leaf needs with root capability.
I note the original post was a few weeks ago. Any change since?

[Per PF]

I'm an idiot... I recently came to the conclusion that my Juniper is actually a Spruce! It was the shape that threw me off. It has a very non-Spruce like form but I'm fairly certain at this point. So Picea Abies from here on...

And sorry for never replying to your comments @Moss and @shibui !
It was potted towards the edge like that because of the long snaking root that didn't fit the plastic box.
The lower branch completely died off but the rest seems to be ok for now. New buds and back-buds.

Here's a pic three weeks ago when it went into winter storage (buried).

IMG_8643.jpeg

The plastic box is falling apart so I'll have to repot it come spring - hopefully into something nice