Hollywood Junipers are dying

[peak]

I have a line of Hollywood Junipers about 25 feet tall. They had been healthy for over 10 years. Over the past 18 months they have progressively been dying from one end of the line. The foliage turns brown near the branches and over several weeks it spreads until the entire plant is brown and dead.

Because only the plant on the end dies it doesn't seem to be a disease or bugs. It started after a very wet winter so I suspected root rot last year but this year has been dry and the one of the end (used to be in the middle before its mates died) has started to go.

Any ideas why and what I can do?

Thanks-
Jim
Salinas, CA

 

[treeseer]

Any ideas why and what I can do?

Without pictures we can only shoot in the dark, and we have too few bullets for that.

 

[peak]

Pictures of the dying part

Thanks for the reply; pictures are a great idea! When taking them I noticed that the entire plant still looks pretty good; it's only 3 branches on the end that are dying right now. In the past the problem spreads to the entire plant eventually.

The first picture shows the whole tree with 3 dying branches on the right. The next 2 pictures are closeups of the dying foliage.

Thanks!
Jim

 

[Elmore]

Juniperus chinensis 'Kaizuka' a.k.a. 'Torulosa

A very good juniper that is generally trouble free. Phomopsis and Kabitina blights are listed in Dirr's book on them. The link below lists Phytopthera as a possible problem. You should contact those at UC Davis about this problem or perhaps an extension agent. They likely work hand in hand. If I have a valuable plant that looks like it has a root rot problem I will use Subdue but it is not available for home use. There are other fungicides but I don't think that they would be available to the average homeowner either.

http://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheets/HGIC1068.htm

Here is a link that is close to my heart as I believe in the principles outlined in it. I have been dabbling a little along these lines and I believe that it is very useful. They used to simply say "grow a tree". Then a concept came along to wit they said "grow roots". According to this info "grow soil or microorganisms". I agree.

http://newfarm.dws0105.fast.net/features/0404/microorgs/index.shtml

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Is there rodent damage at the base?

 

[peak]

Rodent damage

Nope, the base looks great with no breaks in the bark at all. I notice that even the branches that are relatively healthy are starting to develop some small areas of brown foliage.

 

[peak]

Solved

Steve Koike of the Salinas UC Extension office theorized that the problem appears to be Armillaria, commonly known as Oak Root Fungus. It spreads through the roots to adjacent trees where the roots touch, hence the slow progression down a row of trees. I cut down the tree and had Steve analyze the stump and roots--he verified his theory. There is no treatment except to remove all infected trees and roots; hopefully before the fungus spreads to yet another tree.

Many thanks to Steve for his excellent help!

-Jim

 

[Elmore]

Sorry to hear that

Steve Koike of the Salinas UC Extension office theorized that the problem appears to be Armillaria, commonly known as Oak Root Fungus. It spreads through the roots to adjacent trees where the roots touch, hence the slow progression down a row of trees. I cut down the tree and had Steve analyze the stump and roots--he verified his theory. There is no treatment except to remove all infected trees and roots; hopefully before the fungus spreads to yet another tree.

Many thanks to Steve for his excellent help!

-Jim

Armillaria is some bad fungi.

<img src="http://www.ppath.cornell.edu/trees/photo3/armph46b.JPEG">

http://www.ppath.cornell.edu/trees/Armillaria.html

 

[davereinmuth]

Not Aramillaria

I have this as well. It's not that particular fungus, since the trunk and roots appear almost normal, no white growth. What is odd is that the inside of the trunk has a purplish pink cast to it on the sides that have the dead branches. So it is some kind of systemic illness, but I have no idea what...