What's eating my rocky mountain juniper?

Rocky Mountain Juniper is primarily threatened by cedar-apple rust (a fungal disease), juniper scale, and bagworms. Spider mites attack in summer heat. Deer browse foliage heavily in winter when other food is scarce. Scale insects cause the most persistent year-round damage on garden specimens throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

White armored scale on bark and foliage causes yellowing needles, branch dieback, and stunted growth Spray horticultural oil at dormancy; scrub off scale manually; apply systemic insecticide for severe or widespread infestations

Bags of silk and foliage fragments hang from branches; larvae inside strip foliage causing brown dead patches Remove and destroy bags by hand in fall or winter; apply Bt or spinosad spray in late spring to young larvae

Stippled, bronzed or greyish foliage with fine webbing between branchlets, particularly in dry Rocky Mountain summers Water regularly to reduce drought stress; apply neem oil or miticide; rinse with water to remove mites and eggs

Large aphid colonies on bark and stems produce sticky honeydew, sooty mold, and weaken new spring growth Hose off colonies with a strong water jet; apply insecticidal soap in early spring; avoid over-fertilizing with nitrogen