I apologize for the formatting issues in my original post. I ran it through Notepad first and the apostrophes looked fine when I previewed it. Very weird! Sorry about that.

I hope you'll all still take the time to read my post. I'll try posting the text portion again below, hopefully this time without formatting errors!

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Hi all,

Last October, my husband and I completed a big landscaping project in our backyard (50 trees and shrubs!), and the anchors of the landscape design are the 14 juniper trees (6-7 feet tall) that we've planted in various locations. We have 3 varieties: canaerti, keteleeri, and spartan.

First, I'll explain the issues we're having. The canaerti junipers have cedar-apple rust, which we didn't realize when we bought them. We waited for the slimy orange galls to dry up, and earlier this week we cut off as many of the large ones as possible. In the next month or two, we're planning to spray them with fungicide to kill off the remaining fungus. This is not the primary issue we're concerned with, however.

While pruning off the rust galls, I noticed a lot of brown needles at the centers of all the trees (canaerti, keteleeri, and spartan). I'm not sure how much of this is normal shedding versus some other problem that needs to be corrected. The appearance of this browning varies according to juniper variety.

Here's some background in case it helps:

These were B&B trees that were originally grown in some kind of clay soil mixture. We dug 4-foot-wide holes for each juniper and backfilled with native clay soil (amended with haydite to help aerate the soil & absorb excess moisture). At the time, we thought we were "planting high," but after planting, I read how important it is to remove extra soil at the base of the trunk. Once I'd removed 3-4 inches of soil at the base of each, the trees were planted right at grade.

The trees seemed to do well over the winter. This March we noticed some fairly minor instances of twig die-back, which I pruned about a month ago. Out of the 14 trees we planted, 1 spartan juniper died and we have replaced it with a new canaerti.

Since planting these trees last fall, I've been using a moisture meter to monitor the soil and only watering when they dried out. In the past few weeks, we've had quite a bit of rain (around 2 inches), so I haven't watered them at all. Our last rain was 5 days ago, and the root balls still register as moist with some parts of the surrounding soil still at saturated level. The clay soil obviously doesn't dry out very quickly.

In search of answers about the brown needles at the centers of the trees, I called 3 different places this morning: the original nursery, another nursery we bought plants from, and the master gardener/county extension office. As you can imagine, I received a number of opinions:

* Could be normal shedding due to lack of light at center of trees.
* Could be normal die-off from the harsh winter temperatures. Shake out the dead needles to prevent fungus.
* Could be insects, but probably too early for that. Shake needles onto white paper to see if anything appears. (I tried this, but didn't see any evidence of insects.)
* Could be cercospora blight, which starts at the center and bottom of junipers and moves outward. Treat with fungicide. (I actually researched this last night, and found a K-State publication that said all 3 varieties are very resistant to cercospora.)
* Could be too much water due to high rainfall. One nurseryman said to dig up junipers, raise them above grade, and change the soil. The other nurseryman said not to disturb them if they've been in the ground for a while, and that we shouldn't amend the soil because the trees have to adapt to it. He recommended removing the mulch during wet spring season to help it dry out.

I think most of these are valid possibilities. The problem is, how do I track down the right answer -- and quickly? We have a significant financial investment in these trees, not to mention all the backbreaking labor required to plant them. I don't want to let this issue go on too long and risk losing them.

If it turns out to be a moisture problem, I'm considering digging them up (my husband will have to move them because they're VERY heavy) and replanting them at least 4 inches above grade. I really don't want to do this, but I may desperate enough at this point. If we do this, do you think it would be advantageous to create a raised bed with amended soil that will stay drier than the native clay?

I could really use your opinions (the more the better!) on how we should move forward at this point. I've posted some photos below in case it helps. Note that the first photo shows one row of junipers containing all 3 varieties. Photos #2-4 show the browning within the canaerti junipers, and photos #5-9 show the browning within the keteleeri junipers.

Thanks in advance!

Angela

I am raising 19 Eastern Red Cedar from 2' to 13' in blackland clay soil on top of caliche. Your soil is probably not worse than mine. These trees take to this heavy alkaline soil like a rabbit to a cabbage patch.
We get 32" annual rainfall. Transplanted the trees out when 2' tall and water once a week unless I get over 1/2" of rainfall that week. 2nd year I cut watering back to every other week. 3rd year on I only water once a month if in hot dry summer drought. For a six' tree you will probably need to provide weekly watering for 2-3 yrs. Once tree has grown an additional 1-2' cut watering back to every other week and then once a month the next year. My trees are planted level with ground. I would not dig yours up as they appear level also. Cedar apple rust should disappear as the weather gets hotter and drier. The answers you received seemed to be valid. I'd wait. Will look at mine to see if I see similar browning. How much rain have you had during the last 30 days?

"Could be normal shedding due to lack of light at center of trees." Yes, very definitely along with the fact 90% of roots were sheared off when dug. When branch tips die that is a sign of a dying plant. Inner die back is normal.

When you plant 14 Junipers some are going to have issues and you always will loose a few especially when field dug.

These plants need time to establish themselves. At least two years. Quite worrying about all these possible scenarios of potential problems. Watch your water when mother nature isn't supplying enough clear into the second year. After that they should be ready to free range.

Crown root flare 2 inches above grade...never 4 inches. You never usually amend soil since you have done this...leave it.

Insert finger into soil. When dry 2 inches down water. Let dry out and repeat the same process.

Removing 3-4 inches of soil at the base of each tree...only necessary if root flair planted to low when field grown. As I said before ...root flair 2 inches above grade.

One final thing...You said: "If it turns out to be a moisture problem, I'm considering digging them up (my husband will have to move them because they're VERY heavy) and replanting them at least 4 inches above grade. I really don't want to do this, but I may desperate enough at this point. If we do this, do you think it would be advantageous to create a raised bed with amended soil that will stay drier than the native clay?"....Don't do it. You will loose most if not all of them.

Dave

Thanks for the great responses so far!

scotjute:

I'm glad to hear your cedars are doing well in clay soil. You asked about rainfall -- we've actually gotten about 5 inches of rain in the past 30 days, with most of it falling around Easter. By the way, thanks for offering to check your cedars for browning at the centers. I'm looking forward to hearing back from you!

Dave:

I'm relieved to hear that inner dieback can be normal, although apparently it is also a symptom of cercospora blight. Given that our canaerti junipers had a pretty bad case of cedar-apple rust, the grower obviously didn't spray these trees in the field to prevent fungus. Since the type of junipers we planted are said to be resistant to cercospora, I don't necessarily think it's that, but I'm planning to get a hand lens so I can check for the black fruiting bodies that are supposed to be a tell-tale sign.

Thanks for the info on the root flares. They were buried 4 inches too deep in the field, which is why I had to remove this extra soil after planting them. It obviously would've been better to do it before we planted them, but I didn't realize the problem then.

For what it's worth, all of the scenarios I listed above were offered to me by the local nurseries and extension office, so it's not stuff that I dreamed up on my own (although it does match my own research). I don't mean to be overly anxious about our trees, but I also don't want to turn a blind eye and then suddenly lose them all. We paid too much money and worked too hard for that!

Both nurserymen I talked with this morning said they typically recommend planting junipers 3-4 inches above grade because of the local clay soil. Around here, it's not uncommon to see trees planted even higher than that. (At the new performing arts center here, it almost looks like the landscapers just set the juniper balls on top of the grade!) This doesn't mean that's the correct way to do it, but everyone is apparently very concerned about the clay soil drowning their trees during the rainy spring season.

You said that if we created a raised bed with amended soil that we would probably lose most of the junipers. I'm not saying we're actually going to attempt this, but what do you think would cause them to die? The transplanting process itself, the amended soil, or the height of the raised bed?

ken:

Thanks for your response. I guess we were posting at the same time!

I'm sure the trees are still traumatized from being dug up in the field last fall.

We're planning to water properly, of course, but we can't control when Mother Nature dumps 5 inches of rain on us in a week. LOL! When the summer heat and drought hits, I imagine we'll be watering them on weekly basis.

So I take it that I don't really need to worry unless the tips of the trees start to brown? Does that typically indicate over-watering, under-watering, or both?

Checked my 2 larger ERC trees (12-13' size). They are showing some similar browning, but look healthy otherwise. So far no signs of cedar apple rust this year.

To make a long story longer I will continue to help you through your issues.

"You said that if we created a raised bed with amended soil that we would probably lose most of the junipers. I'm not saying we're actually going to attempt this, but what do you think would cause them to die? The transplanting process itself, the amended soil, or the height of the raised bed?"

It's just the fact you just planted them last October. They have had 8 months to reestablish with little or no side effects except inner browning which is normal.

The fact you are now entertaining digging them back up for reestablishment in a raised bed will not be in their best interests especially with summer around the corner. Also they are not dying tells me your watering is not out of balance. Disregard the 5 inches of rain Mother Nature dumped upon them. I'll take that anytime. A natural occurrence.

All nursery personal are programed weather qualified or not to sell shelf products to cure plant aliments. They will tell you all scenarios and create some as to what may be the problem with your plants. Hopefully they didn't relieve your pocket book of any change trying to diagnose all these potential problems. Save your receipts.

If not convinced after talking to the forum about your concerns you have call your local extension agent and they will come out and tell you what, if any problems, you could have.

Dave

scotjute - Thanks for checking your cedar trees for me. It gives me hope that you have similar browning on the interior. Glad you haven't seen any signs of cedar-apple rust. Assuming you've had cedar-apple rust in the past, did you treat your cedars with a fungicide? If so, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know what you used.

Dave - Thanks for your continued assistance. Interestingly enough, neither nursery suggested the possibility of cercospora blight. It was actually the master gardener I talked with who mentioned that idea. She suggested spraying the trees with a fungicide whether or not they actually had the disease since it "wouldn't hurt." After taking a closer look at the dead foliage with a magnifying glass, I don't think fungus is the problem, so I'm not planning to spray for anything other than the cedar-apple rust on the canaerti junipers.

I didn't realize that extension agents did site visits, so I'll keep that in mind if things go downhill.

Thanks again to everyone who weighed in on this. I appreciate it!

These trees look great compared to the one in my yard planted early spring, and actually looked great until a rain came that must have just pushed the amount it could capilarize beyond it's limit. My question. Can it be saved? It is a 15 Gal Spartan Juniper, and is browning all over, or turning it. What to do???

Im nearly certain this is what junipers (Wichita) that are in too wet of a location look like (despite being planted on mongo mounds and never watering, leeches live in my soil). These pics were from May, theyve gotten worse since then. Theyve been in the ground 4-5 years and have slowly gone downhill since being planted. First pic middle-left, 2nd pic right side.

I would not water after the first year....if I could get there with them. One I planted a tad earlier in super early spring looks fine. I also bumped it up to a 20 g bucket prior to planting as it was way top heavy for the 10 G it was in. I am just flummoxed because I am a landscaper, and this shouldn't happen to ME! LOL.....anyway...any idea if they are too wet if letting them dry may result in continuing life?. As long as yours are green as they are they look fine to me. Mine is definitely browning...

The cedar apple rust….just let it be!! It really does not affect Taylor’s!!!!

"It really does not affect Taylor’s!!!!"

Not true. C-A rust affects all cultivars of Juniperus virginiana, 'Taylors' included. And is not restricted to that species. However the disease is rarely harmful to the juniper hosts. Just a bit unsightly and of course, the source of infection for any Rosaceous plants

I guess that is what I actually meant that my sources said it just isn’t harmful….I have 20 Taylor’s…I have experienced all this and they are doing great!!

I’m having the same issue with some junipers I planted. What ended up happening with yours? They were expensive and I don’t want to replace them!