juniper squamata, die back what would you do?

[Jamie]

hey guys. i hvae had a juniper in training for a couple of years now. not the one i posted to previously, but similar size and age. this one tho is showing some signs of trouble. two of the main branches on the left hand side have had their foliage turn brown and drop of pretty much completely.
i checked the branches and they are very much alive.
there is a natural shari down at the base under these branchs where no surface roots are growing at all, would this effect it?
or could this be deeper?
root problem?
pest maybe?
its got me buggered cos my other one that sits about 2 feet away from it is really healthy.
which makes me think it isnt bugs. so i am absolutly stumped. i did have to remove one branch above the other two but i dont think that would of had anything to do with it? would it?
i am thinking i might have to take it out of its pot and put it in a fresh grow box to try and regain its vigour.

any thoughts and advice greatlyt appreciated.

regards jamie

[Mojo Moyogi]

Jamie it sounds a lot like the damage that red spider mites can cause, are there any signs of fine spider webs or can you see tiny little spiders running about the tree when viewed with a magnifying glass? If you can upload some pics, close ups of the branches including the healthy branches, we may be able to accurately diagnose the problem.

Cheers
MM

[NathanM]

Spider mites?? They are one pest that junipers are susceptible to. That would be my first guess

[Jamie]

ok will get better pics of the branches soon. i had a good close look didnt see to much out of the ordinary, a small egg nest that looked like a spider nest on one branch but seemed way to big for the spider mite.
i googled what they were and how they looked. didnt see anything like it on my tree.
there was some tiny little bits of fluff looking material but that was about it. nothing was running up and down the the branches.
what is the response to this if it is the mites? obviously a pesticide but what? i have never had any trouble before apart from a scale attack one on a fukien tea that i treated and got rid of.
other wise my trees have been healthy. will get back with the photos. thanks!

[Jamie]

ok heres the pics, sorry if the quality isnt great, dont have a flash camera.
showing the tree healthy on one side. i am letting it grow out a bit thats why its scruffy.
the egg i found is about 12mm across in size.
the close up of the branches are of the top left and bottom left on the tree.

could this be a root problem, the natural shari running on the left hand sad is right down at the base of the tree. and is only bout 75mm long no roots are coming from this side of the trunk, could this be a problem where the live vein that was feeding this side of the tree could have died???

[Pup]

It looks like White mite, if it is treat it with either Malascale or Rogor this is a powerful systemic. So do not let over spray come into contact with your Elms they do not like systemics. What is that white blob on the pot if it is a bug that could be your problem. Again insecticide is the way to go.

It could also be Phoma which is a fungal disease which needs a Copper based Fungicide. This one shows itself by new growth being distorted it will not kill the plant but will weaken it so insect attack is more severe to the point of killing.
This is harder to control and needs constant vigilance I know from experiance. I am still battling it. Hope this is of some help.
Pup

[Jamie]

thanks pup you have given me some leads on the problem, the "white blob" is a spiders egg nest thing. i found it in the dense foliage of the bottom right branch.
i will look into the systemics. what is this "phoma" you speak of never heard of it but being fungal i dont like the sounds of it because i pride my collection on how they have been relativly problem free.
this mite problem is bugging me to. no pun intended.
ahh the joy of bonsai.

[Jamie]

im hoping to be able to save the two branches tho. i sorta wanted them for the design i was heading with, but i do have another option of a windswept style if need be, the actual dead wood on it isnt actually on it yet.( what goes from the front of the tree all the way up) i intend on doing a tanuki or pheonix graft with this fella. it will help hide the poor surface roots on it that arent easily repairable.

[Jamie]

i just researched this white mite and found some images of branches with eggs on it. it looks like these eggs are present on my juniper. now i am a bit worried because the site has stated that these mite can quickly infest and kill the tree. what sort of time space do i have?? has anyone had these suckers??

edit- ontop of this i just researched phoma, this sounds like an issue to.. so it looks like i might have to investigate this further.
would a repot into a "quarantine" situation hurt this tree? im thinking repot to inspect the roots. the tree isnt actually due for one for probly 1-2 more years.

[Jamie]

ok diagnosis found.. white mites.. how i know i found them on another juniper squamata that i had close by..bugger.
which got me thinking i better check my other juni aswell... double bugger!
this annoyed me so i got to treating all three. i have started with a white oil, i know you recommended other systemics pup but this is all i had on hand and wanted to get started getting rid of these little suckers quick smart.
the white oil stated that is was effective against mites so hopefully this will do the trick. and yes i kept it far away from my elms.
well more to follow on the follow up of these trees!

[Pup]

ok diagnosis found.. white mites.. how i know i found them on another juniper squamata that i had close by..bugger.
which got me thinking i better check my other juni aswell... double bugger!
this annoyed me so i got to treating all three. i have started with a white oil, i know you recommended other systemics pup but this is all i had on hand and wanted to get started getting rid of these little suckers quick smart.
the white oil stated that is was effective against mites so hopefully this will do the trick. and yes i kept it far away from my elms.
well more to follow on the follow up of these trees!

Jamie white oil on conifers is not recommended as it smothers. That includes the stomata that conifer breath though so try the others. It is a mite so a specific miteside would be better apart from the one with the damage you noticed first you still have time.
I never use white oil I have actually seen it kill an Olive because to much was used.
Cheers Pup
You will now get some more replies, on this subject, I suspect

[Jamie]

ok then.. well that was a bit of a bad move then hey..
its done now. but i presume it can be fixed by giving the tree a good spray down to remove it as much as possible.
the damaged branches posted are still alive very much so. i am hoping i can get these to bud back and recover...? any chance?

suspecting more posts now?? have i done something i shouldnt have?
well i take all things on the chin, so one way or the other it will be a lesson learned, what ever critisism that becomes of this. all good!


edit- basically most mitecides all do the same thing i suspect aswell???

[Jamie]

ok, my rectification of white oil ( so i hope) basically on the can it stated if it rained within 24 hours of application another application would be needed. so what i have done is set my hose on a fine mist and sprayed the whole tree/s down to try and rectify this situation, this was done early this morning so maybe the white oil has had enough time to take effect but not on to long to suffocate the tree? any thoughts on this??

[Pup]

ok, my rectification of white oil ( so i hope) basically on the can it stated if it rained within 24 hours of application another application would be needed. so what i have done is set my hose on a fine mist and sprayed the whole tree/s down to try and rectify this situation, this was done early this morning so maybe the white oil has had enough time to take effect but not on to long to suffocate the tree? any thoughts on this??

You should be right Jamie when I said mitieside that is the same as insecticide. So you should be OK

[Jamie]

just to touch on this subject, i used a fine mist spray hose attachment the day after i put the white oil on my junipers to try and "wash" any off that might close of any pores and such.
i bought an insecticide and have applied as per a bonsai friend advised me.
so hopefull this has helped and i can recover the 2 damaged branches on this juni.
any ways will keep posted on results and when i develop the foliage i will post again when the tree is healthy. (trying to look at this positive)