UPDATED: Blue Star Juniper Not Doing Well

Jan.2026 - Update

Not the greatest pic in the world, but maybe you can see that the Blue Star Juniper is not doing well..or maybe he is & I'm just projecting..                                                                                                           if you look closely, you will see that his "tips" are browning, leading me to think that he is dying back..OR this is normal winter behaviour for this Juniper cultivar. Although I have another juniper, it is a so-called "common" juniper, (which is a fancy way of saying mongrel) unlike the Blue Star, which is a named cultivar.                                                                                                                                     

Here is a closer view of what I'm concerned about.      Consulting with knowledgeable & more-experienced than I, the consensus (as I suspected) is "over-watering", which is not surprising considering the rainfall that we received here in so. Cal over the last 30-40 days.                                                                                                                                             I will make a real effort to get the Blue Star dried-up & then we'll go from there..stay tuned for details.

Jan 12 - Update

It was suggested, by wiser heads than I, that once the Blue Star is dried-out to use a tablespoon of 3% Hydrogen Peroxide in the watering..no fertilizer, no plant food; the theory being "The oxygen and reactiveness of it will help prevent some infections and degrade a couple phenolic plant exudate compounds that delay recovery."

Sure sounds like he knows what he's talking about, so I will try it today & see if it helps mitigate the tip browning.

Jan 18

I applied the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide diluted in water on 1/15/26, after letting the Blue Star dry out for several days. Still don't know if this treatment will reverse the damage done, but, as of this morning, it isn't getting any worse! I will take that, for now & continue "watchful waiting" to see if it has any long-term effect.

Jan 24

Now, over a week since I used the 3% Peroxide, it seems like the browning has not progressed or, at least, not getting any worse. It is hard to see (apologize for the crappy pic), but it looks like there are some bright green needles, indicating new growth, starting to appear on a few inner branches.                                                                                                                                        This might be wishful-thinking on my part, but only time will tell.  I don't expect the plant to fully recover..the tip browning is irrevocable..those needles are dead, but if I can see new growth, it may signal that the roots are again starting to deliver nutrition to the plant. 

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