stop watering... the worst thing that you can do .. is freeze the roots into an ice cube .... do NOT water again.. unless your finger.. inserted to about 3 inches.. indicates that the soil is dry .... in my z5.. i suspect that might be mid may, next year ... add mulch around the plant if you didn't prior.. and you can still find some in z4 ... almost all the junipers turn color in fall and winter ... to some extent or another... i don't see why you should be concerned the old GOLD is turning yellow .. lol ... though i have no specific knowledge of that plant.. it sure sounds normal to me .... with temps in the 30' to 50's by day .. and 20 to 40's at night.. you will have little color change other than that which is normal for this time of year .... your only threat is late next spring.. after thaw and spring showers leave... and the soil starts to dry in summer ... i would only be concerned with one color.. brown ... and you wont see that until the heat of summer, next year ... watering is an art.. not a science .... one gallon per week means nothing ... you water when the soil needs water... and that is a function of water holding capacity... drainage.. rain... etc ... no guessing allowed.. insert finger ... all that said ... junipers are pretty hard to kill .. presuming you started with healthy stock .... and presuming the most minor of care ... you will be beating them back with a stick in a year or two ... have a good holiday... i am sure you have many other things that you need to worry about... i doubt the junipers should be high on the list .... ken

Thank you one and all for the time given to helping me with this question. I'm new to Gardenweb and I can hardly believe what others do for one. I will have to return the good intentions myself. I'm glad dying of old age was mentioned. I see that patience is a key to growing a juniper hedge. I didn't really realize that. I really prefer the look to that of arborvitae for a hedge, but I now think I will play with juniper as specimen trees or formal entrance trees. Some of the other varieties mentioned and pictured are truly gorgeous and worth waiting for. I have become a fan of the species in the process. I need something faster growing for privacy. Does anyone have any experience with the Thuja "Green Giant" Arborvitae? How about growing up north? It says its hardy to -15. We're in Zone 4b to 5a (-15 to -25 potentially) however we're right next to the Mississippi River in NE Iowa and protected from wind by the bluffs, with some ground warming due to the river. Perhaps that would make a difference. Does the Thuja really grow as fast as the claims? I have lots of composted sheep barn cleanings running wild with redworms that could be mixed with the sandy loam soil to hopefully speed it up. Otherwise, I just came across on old thread from 2003 called "Neighbor says no to fence..need HELP with fast growing barrier." It was very helpful. If the Thuja is not adaptable to my zone, I'm thinking of putting up livestock panels and growing common woodvine on them. No winter privacy, but thems the breaks. I have lots that grows 30 feet a year on the side of our stone building. Don't want it there, so I have lots of material to work with. I'll just have to keep up with the trimming, which I don't mind. To block a few close windows of the neighbors I need to reach about 20 feet. Again, if Thuja's not right perhaps another fast grower I've heard about, "Emerald Green Arborvitae" would work. Otherwise, I'd like to find something fast like Lombardy Poplar and columnar, but stronger than Lombardy and hopefully a little longer lived, as it will be quite close to the neighbor's house. Unlike the guy in the previous mentioned thread, I have a lot of leeway with the neighbor. I own the driveway entrance to his garage. No problem. I just don't like huge new houses built right on the lot line with windows overlooking our back yard. Green diplomacy is the solution, I think. Bless you all for making this a remarkable forum and website.

some yellows are a spring sensation.... others are a winter show ... though i doubt deodors have any inclination to show off in winter.. since they are a warm zone plant... others will have to tell you such.. since they are not a MI plant for me... that said.. many yellow plants.. do NOT color properly if in too much shade ... so location can matter ... also.. transplant shock can make recent transplants do weird things... and w/o a pic... we will have to rely on it being properly labeled to begin with.. and that can be a dangerous presumption at times... care to post a pic and confirm the ID... and.. where are you???? ken PS: are there really two conifers named gold cone.. ???? that aint right!!!! .. seems to me.. mine is Juniperus communis 'Gold Cone' which should be Juniperus communis 'Suecica Aurea' .. which has nothing to do with deodors ... but its early.. i might be confused... BTW.... mine is entirely a spring show ....

Thank you all! This browning happened only in April/May, before that foliage was blue-green, but probably dead already. Looking again at the trunk where it comes out of the ground, I noticed peeled-up bark, with that bark feeling like paper. I scratched that 'bark' off with my finger nails, removed soil and see wood without bark : There were no vole runs and holes. Last summer and fall I used 1" dia PVC pipe runs (like a Z) with poison pellets against voles. Pellets now remain uneaten in those Z runs since last fall. The bark might have rotted away over the last 10 years. The juniper looks like planted too deep, but should not have drowned because it sits 10 in above the bottom of a dry creek and 3 ft away which carries water from house gutters to a place 65 ft away. I water that area for 1 hour when there was no rain for a week, turn on/off manually an overhead sprinkler. I also have a healthy 12 ft Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Gracilis' in a vegetable garden, no rotting of the bark. My 'van Akker' sits 6 ft away from the dry creek across from the juniper and is happy I just bought a Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Compacta', will plant it somewhat high. Thanks again! Bernd