What's eating my savin juniper?

Savin Juniper (Juniperus sabina) is prone to juniper scale and spider mites. Juniper tip blight (Phomopsis/Kabatina spp.) is a common fungal problem causing tip dieback after wet springs. Bagworms are a serious insect threat in the US. Deer browse this low-spreading shrub heavily in winter months.

Shoot tips turn brown and die back from the tip inward; tiny black fruiting bodies visible on dead stems; spreads after wet, cool spring weather. Prune out blighted tips in dry weather; disinfect tools between cuts; apply preventive copper fungicide or thiophanate-methyl in early spring; improve air circulation by thinning.

White-grey encrusted scales on stems; foliage yellows in patches and branches die back; most severe on water-stressed plants. Spray horticultural oil in late winter; apply systemic insecticide at crawler emergence (late spring); prune and dispose of scale-laden stems.

Foliage eaten inside hanging silk debris cases; heavy infestations kill large sections of spreading shrubs within a season. Hand-pick overwintering bags; spray Bacillus thuringiensis at larval hatch in late spring; use spinosad for older larvae.

Bronzed, stippled foliage with webbing; looks scorched in summer; mites spread rapidly across dense, low foliage in dry conditions. Spray foliage with water; apply neem oil or miticide; water plants adequately during drought; avoid excess nitrogen fertiliser.