cut out the dead.. back to a live forking branch.. and hope for the best ... i dont understand what you mean.. on how the same branch can be on both sides of the plant ... i would not waste money on treating it .... replace it with something other than a juniper .. if this becomes a yearly thing ... also.. your plants are very close to the house... use google image.. to see how big any given plant gets .... see link as to this one ... the peeps in the conifer forum can guide to much less aggressive plants... if you wish to remain in the conifer spectrum ... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

Finally, theree's one more way that junipers can end up looking like that; During winter, meadow voles, AKA "field mice", can get hungry enough to gnaw the bark of off of individual stems, girdling those stems in the process. This leads to interrupted sap flow beyond the girdled area and eventual drying/death. You can see this by visual inspection-the gnawing exposes whitish wood instead of the normal bark. For Phomopsis blight (and another pathogen which presents similarly-Kabatina), I suggest Cornell U's web pages. They cover it very well. Let us know what you find. Environmentally-caused dieback, as Ken mentioned, is certainly extremely prevalent this spring. +oM

A dowel rod is a round piece of wood - like a pencil. You can get one at a hdwe store & sharpen it in a pencil sharpener. Alternately, us a 12" wooden skewer - they come pre-sharpened. * Move the plant to a spot where you can repeatedly and thoroughly flush the soil with water that hasn't passed through the softener. * Flush the soil up to 10 times with at least as much water as the volume of the container the plant is in. You cannot overdo it. * After flushing, tilt the container at a 45* angle and wait for the container to stop draining. This drains a considerable amount more water than allowing the container to rest on its bottom. * After draining has stopped, remove the plant from it's pot and set on newspapers to drain. If the plant is small, a few hours is fine - if large, allow it to rest on the papers over night. * With a utility knife, slash deep vertical cuts into the root mass and an 'X' on the bottom. Alternately, you can remove an inch or two of the roots/soil from the bottom. * Pot up into a slightly larger pot and fill in around the roots with a soil similar to what you currently have in the root mass. Use a wick in the bottom of the pot if you are going to be able to lift the pot above the collection saucer (best). Ideally, the wick will dancle 2-3" below the bottom of the pot w/o contacting the water in the collection saucer. (I know - a lot to ask) ;o) This wick will 'fool' the water into 'thinking' the pot is deeper than it is. Water will move down the wick 'looking' for the bottom of the pot, and droip off the end. This will go a long way toward eliminating the specter of root rot and allowing you to water copiously enough to flush the soil each time you water to help gurad against salt accumulation. * A few days after you've repotted, fertilize with 1/2 the recommended strength of Miracle-Gro 24-8-16 (granular/box), Miracle-Gro 12-4-8 (liquid/yellow jug), or Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 (best, but you'd probably need to order online) * Give it all the light you can, and try to keep soil temps @ 65-75* That's the standard plan for bringing Ficus back from the brink. I'm not sure how many it's worked for, but I know it's more than I can guess at .... lots. ;o) Best luck!! I'll be around if you still have questions. Al

I'm pretty sure your plants are suffering from 1 of the 3 fungal infections that cause tip/twig blight. Phomopsis, Kabatina or Scllerophoma pythiophila are the likely suspects on the list of possible pathogens. Read up on it and see what you think - it's a very common affliction of evergreens. Cleary 3336 fungicide is very often suggested as remedial or a prophylactic for juniper tip/twig blights. Regular prophylactic treatments beat trying to fix an existing problem any day. I treat all my evergreens every 3-3 weeks, starting as soon as I put them on the benches after their winter rest. DO check very carefully for spider mites and get your watering under control. There is no need to water the junipers until you can no longer detect moisture with your finger. Use a 5/16" wooden dowel rod sharpened in a pencil sharpener as a 'tell'. If, after being stuck deep in the pot, the dowel rod comes out dry and clean, it's time to water. Al