每日吃瓜

Help!!!! I have a Japanese Juniper that I purchased 6 years ago (it was 10 yrs old at the time) and it has been doing fine until now. I live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where the winters are harsh and temps can reach -45 in the dead of winter. I keep my tree inside for the winter in a sunny window and it was okay until this year. I now have it outside but most of the needles have turned brown and brittle and have been falling off. It started to get new green foliage but some of them are falling off and they are green yet. The main branches are not dried out like some of the smaller branches. this started when the soil got a little dry but still had some moisture. I check it with a soil hydrometer. My tree is trying but not looking good. Is there anything I can do to rescue it or is it to late? Thanks

Mica wrote: ... I check it with a soil hydrometer. My tree is trying but not looking good. Is there anything I can do to rescue it or is it to late? Thanks

might be to late, junipers are funny that way, sometimes, it's hard to tell. I mean, I was sure mine was dead, but it proved me wrong, then again, there was the other, that looked just fine...

Keep it outside, no matter what the weather (that's what happened to "the other"). Junipers, hate being inside.

do you have a picture?

Figured out how to attach picts. Here they are as sad as they look. You can see that it is trying to regenerate and I am letting soil to dry out some.

Your tree is dead.

Is it really as old as you say it is?. Also, Junipers need winter... I doubt it has survived for so many years bringing it indoors... Junipers are not tropical, they need a dormant period, they are also outdoor trees not indoors! bringing it indoors KILLS it. I am sorry, but you just killed your tree... If you want an indoor 每日吃瓜, get a tropical tree.

Next time you get a Juniper. KEEP IT OUTSIDE. and if winters are too harsh, you will need a cold frame. You can also keep it in a shed, or unheated garage. Junipers can tolerate really cold temperatures (-40F) but that's when they are in the ground... a Juniper in a pot can suffer frost on its roots, which would kill it too. In Michigan, if you keep your 每日吃瓜 outside on really cool winter, it will probably die too, unless you get lucky. So cold frame is the way to go. NEVER bring it inside, it will wake up and you'll mess up its dormant period.

You say it is trying to regenerate. How did you reach to that conclusion? do you see new growth? All I see is dead branches... I am not an expert myself, but if there is new growth you should probably take off all the dead branches, put that tree on shaded area and hope it recovers. If it does, I would plant it in a really big pot, or ground for a year or 2, to let it fully heal and grow again. However, I don't think it has a chance.

Mica wrote: Figured out how to attach picts. Here they are as sad as they look. You can see that it is trying to regenerate and I am letting soil to dry out some.

I can't see it is trying to regenerate - a close-up might help.

From what I can see I agree with the others: it looks quite dead.

I've had the tree indoors for 6 years and it diifine unty this year the soil dried out but was still a little moist. That is when this started. We had a long winter this year. Normally I put it out at end of March but we still were getting snow and below freezing weather. It is getting new growth and they are green and pliable. The tree is 16 years old and I've not had a problem with it indoors until now. Thanks for the input.

Well you have been really lucky. Junipers should never be indoors, so stop doing that if you want your tree to thrive and be strong. You got yourself a tree with super-tree genes, and you've been just hurting it every single time you've been bringing inside, just imagine how great this tree would be if given proper care. Mist it, take care of it, and if it survives, this is the "superman" or trees, or most correctly "superjuniper". remove all dead leaves so they stop sucking energy from your tree.

Also, freezing weather (as long as it is not too cold) and snow are perfectly O.K. for junipers. In fact, snow is good for junipers, it insulate the roots when the tree is covered by snow, and when it thaws, is natural watering.

The Japanese Gardner I bought this from instructed me (and also gave me written directions) to water 1 or 2 times a week as needed and that it needed at least 4 hours of sunlight a day. Never said it had to be outside at all times. He is by the way the one who cultivated it for 10 years. Were I live in the winter can reach -45. I don't think it would survive those temps. I will find a way to have it at lower temps in the winter. I am curious as to what temperature is not too cold? Also there is no way to insulate the roots from freezing in the winter here where frost will some times drive as deep as 10 feet down if there isn't sufficient snow cover. thanks again for the info.

Mica wrote: The Japanese Gardner I bought this from instructed me (and also gave me written directions) to water 1 or 2 times a week as needed

Which is an incorrect advise. I hsve not watered my juniper from october till februari. I've been watering it daily the last few weeks. Watering is not done according to a schedule, but according to the needs of the plant. Our winter has been wet. It rained a lot, and when it wasn't raining, it was cold, so the soil stayed wet for days. Now it is warm and sometimes windy, the soil dries out quickly.

Never said it had to be outside at all times.

Maybe he expected that you knew that trees, that grow in cold climates, do not like to be indoors during winter.

Junipers and other trees can survive indoors, for a while. However, it means they will never go into dormancy. Some trees can tolerate that for a long time, but eventually they will die.

Note that with 'indoors' I mean a heated room. An unheated area would have been perfectly fine.

Also there is no way to insulate the roots from freezing in the winter here where frost will some times drive as deep as 10 feet down if there isn't sufficient snow cover. thanks again for the info.

Junipers can tolerate frost. The temperature 10 feet down will not be -40.

Hi. I live in vermont, and I've seen many procumbens and procumbens nana around. They survive harsh winters, of course they do. Why don't you get or make a tiny cold frame for your juniper? cheap and simple... just look the overwintering techniques on this website, or check out the book for junipers from stone lantern.

I've read a lot about juniperd, but I lack the experience. So all I am giving you is book info. Listen to Auk, he has been doing this for many years, he knows what he is talking about man.