As a houseplant, the blue pacific juniper always has great demand. But sometimes gardeners notice leaf problems, dieback, frost attack, root rot, disease attack and pest infestation problem in the plant. These are mostly occurring by overwatering, underwatering, soil problems, high intensity of sunlight, imbalanced temperature and excessive or low humidity.
Juniperus conferta or blue pacific juniper is an ornamental plant native to Japan. But the plant cannot properly establish if they face any problem in their surroundings. That’s why you have to perfectly maintain the all over necessities properly and so I want to discuss some problems along with their solutions that I applied to my plant in this article.
Here is presented a table by which you can get a quick overview of the problems of blue pacific juniper along with their solutions.
| Problems | Causes | Solutions |
Leaf problems
|
|
|
| Dieback | Fungal attack | Use fungicides and don’t water much to your plant |
| Root rot | Overwatering | Improve the drainage system and don’t water much |
| Frost attack | Temperature below 0°F | The temperature should be between 55-70°F |
Diseases
|
|
|
Pests
|
|
|
6 Common Problems Of My Blue Pacific Juniper Problems And Their Solutions
1. Leaf problems
Let’s talk about the leaf problems of blue pacific junipers. There are several problems noticed in the blue pacific juniper leaves. Some of them are-
- Yellow leaves
- Brown leaves
- Brown leaves with black spots
- Leaf edge drying
- Leaf drooping
- Falling over leaves
- Leaf curling
Causes
When I first saw such leaf problems in my juniper plant, I started to notice and note down the causes behind these phenomena. Let’s discuss them.
- Underwatering or watering is too low for the plant which cannot fulfill the water requirement of the plant.
- Overwatering or providing a huge amount of water that is excessive for the plant.
- Lack of nutrient elements.
- Too high temperature
- Absence of enough moisture around the plant surroundings
- Excessive sunlight
Control measure
To control the leaf problems, you have to maintain the microclimate elements properly. It means the sunlight, watering method, water amount, water quality, temperature, humidity and nutrient status should be balanced according to the necessity of the plant.
Juniper leaves love to grow in full sunlight. Sometimes providing a shed may be beneficial for them. But you have to put them in sunlight for at least 6-8 hours. Next, the temperature should be between 55-70°F for their better development. Again, around 60% humidity is perfect for them.
You should be too conscious about the watering issue. The amount of water should be perfect for them. In the first stage, watering twice or thrice a week is important. But at later stages, watering once a week is important.
During the summer season, you will need to water your plant as much as the temperature is during that period. But make sure that water should not clog at the root zone. The drainage system should be properly developed.
You should not apply too much fertilizer to your plant. Instead of using granular fertilizers, you can use liquid one as it is slow-releasing and cover the plant in a good way.
2. Dieback
Dieback problem starts from the tip of the leaf or stem and then spreads to the entire plant. At first, brown lesions are formed at the tip of the stems. After that, the lesions start to coalesce and get a form like burnt leaves.
Causes
The dieback problem is mainly caused by fungal attacks. Overwatering is also directly adjacent to this problem because overwatering creates such a condition when root rot and other microorganism attack is much facilitated.
Control measures
Stop watering the plant too much so that water cannot stand at the root zone. It should be removed through the drainage system. In this case, you can check the soil moisture by hand to see if the plant needs water or not.
3. Frost Attack
Next, I want to describe the factors of frost attacks. In this case, the leaves of the plant may get white or brownish with a pale appearance. Leaves may also start drooping and the whole plant seems to be lifeless. If you don’t take initiative to save the plant, it will die at the last stage.
Causes
The main cause of frost attack is the temperature belonging from -10° F to 0°F. Though the blue pacific juniper plant is much more tolerant to cold temperatures, too low temperate regions are harmful to its development. They are much attacked by the snowfall.
Control measure
To sort out this problem, keep your plant in a warm place when the outside temperature is extremely cold. The plant may be covered by polythene sheets so that snow won’t fall over the leaves. Most importantly, try to keep the plant wet so that ice cannot do any damage to the plant.
4. Root Rot
Root rot means damaging the root zone by any means. The rootlets become fibrous and start to rot. In severe cases, the main root gets demolished and thus the entire vascular bundle system is disrupted as they cannot work properly to pass food through the channels.
Causes
The main reason for root rot is overwatering. When you water too much to your plant, the plant root remains submerged in the excess water. At that time, various insect attacks are also facilitated and so root damage occurs.
Control measure
Though root rot is a severe problem, you can solve it easily if you notice it earlier. The main solution is that you have to stop watering. The rest of the water should be drained out properly.
In case of severe root rot, you may need to complete repotting. To complete this procedure, you have to just uproot the plant and place it in a new pot which is prepared with a perfect soil mixture of sandy loam soil, perlite, coco-peat, and sphagnum moss.
5. Diseases
After that, let’s know some diseases of the blue pacific juniper plant that I observed in my plants and some of my friends’ plants. They are-
- Rust
- Phomopsis twig blight
- Fungal tip blight
Causes
The diseases are caused due to fungi, bacteria, viruses or nematodes. When insects create wounds in the plants, the plants become susceptible to these microorganisms easily. That’s why diseases can affect the plant.
Control measures
The first step of disease control may be the removal of affected plant parts so that the microorganisms cannot spread to healthy parts. Next, you can provide a heavy stream of water. Such a stream can remove the oze of the bacteria. Thus, this problem can be controlled.
Next, you can use chemicals or homemade recipes for the affected plants. If the problem is too severe and chemicals are available to you, you can spray the chemicals (Our pick: Monterey LG 6145 70% Neem Oil Ready-To-Spray Insecticide, Miticide, & Fungicide). Otherwise, if you have enough time in hand, try homemade recipes if you prefer those. I am providing some of my recipes here.
Recipe 1: Neem oil recipe
Take 1 gallon of water. Mix ¼ tablespoon of aloe vera powder, 1 teaspoon of concentrated neem oil and a few drops of essential oil into that water. Apply the solution during watering.
Recipe 2: Baking soda solution
Take 1 gallon of water and 4 tablespoons of baking soda. Mix properly and use in the plant during watering.
6. Insects
The last problem is insect attacks. Some common insects are generally found in the blue pacific juniper plant.
- Aphid
- Twig borer
- Bagworm
The infestation of these insects is seen much in the rainy season as the moisture percentage and relative humidity enhance at that time.
Causes
Insect infestation is a normal issue for every plant. Blue pacific juniper is susceptible to some insects and they can easily affect them. The foliage part is affected earlier. Besides, if the root is damaged through overwatering, some soil-borne insects may also affect them.
Sometimes, this infestation increases with the structural development of the plant such as blooming. Though blue pacific juniper plant bloom rarely, their beautiful foliage can attract insects. Thus they get attacked by the insects.
Control measure
Removing insects from the plant is easy if they are in a small population. In this period you can remove them by hand picking. Sometimes the eggs of the insects are found on the leaves. So try to remove them by hand.
Otherwise, you can use insecticides or homemade recipes which I have described in the diseases section. Hence, you can use those recipes if you find them useful.
How To Save My Blue Pacific Juniper plant?
To save the blue pacific juniper plant, you can try some early precautions. Let’s know about them.
Pruning
Pruning means the removal of excessive foliage. Pruning is an important cultural operation for this plant as it can reduce infestation. If any insects start to infect the plant, you can do this job. Consequently, the affected part will be removed and the insect won’t be able to bite the further parts of the plant.
Again, pruning makes the plant more vibrant and vigorous. New leaves come out and the plant gets more energy to cope with the problems as more leaves can continue the photosynthesis process. Thus, pruning facilitates the plant to stand against various problems.
Maintaining the microclimates
Microclimate includes the air, temperature, sunlight, humidity, moisture level in the soil etc. As I mentioned before, these all parameters have a specific range within which plants can grow perfectly without facing any obstacles. Hence, it will be beneficial for your plant if you can maintain those perfectly.
Shading
Shading is also an important factor in the blue pacific juniper problem. Some insects are facilitated in warm temperatures. Again, too much heat initiates leaf burning, yellow leaves and leaf curling. But the outside plants cannot be brought inside. That’s why you may provide polythene shading for them so that they may not face problems and get proper sunlight.
FAQs
How long can a blue pacific juniper grow?
A blue pacific juniper can grow 6-12 inches per year which ultimately gets maturity at 4-6 feet. Blue pacific juniper is a fast-growing plant. That’s why if it gets a proper environment, it can get its matured height easily.
Which soil is best for a blue pacific juniper plant?
Sandy loam soil is best for planting blue pacific juniper. For better plant growth, soil mixture should be prepared with perlite, coco-peat, and husk. You can also use sphagnum moss for this purpose.
Is blue pacific juniper salt tolerant?
No. Blue pacific juniper plants cannot tolerate excessive salt water as this water creates a physiological drought inside the plant. But if the salt amount is too low, the plant can uptake such water.
Final Thoughts
Finally, we are at the end point of this detailed discussion about blue pacific juniper problems. As this plant is supposed to be perfect for decorating the lawn or corner of a house, it has great demand all over the world.
But you have to be careful while dealing with them. You don’t need to spend much time behind them, but you have to be conscious. If you find any problems with your plant, you can take my suggestion as I applied them to my plant. A scheduled and wise caring can keep this plant vigorous always.
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