Blue Star Juniper (Juniperus squamata)

Native to Afganistan, China & Taiwan, the Blue Star is a ground-hugging shrub or small tree, evergreen conifer; not particular about soil, thrives in sandy soil, with good drainage, but doesn't like hot, humid conditions or "wet feet" (wet soil). Foliage is a silver-blue.

Acquired: Oct. 2025 - Home Depot - $11.00

This photo is how the Juniper looked when I brought him home; the foliage so thick that one could not really tell what he really looked like; I didn't even know if it was a single-trunk or multiple trunk specimen. 

It was going to be necessary to prune this plant, in order to find out exactly what we had to work with, i.e. structure, posture, major/minor branching..in other words, "show his bones".

The first pruning did little more than produce a pile of cuttings; the second prune did little more.. 

1st Prune

2nd Prune

Finally, we're starting to see what's been hiding under the foliage..a twin-trunk, rising from the base into a dense canopy. Slowly, a shape starts to suggest itself..the technique employed here was to remove any branches or whorls that were/are growing DOWN, away from the natural growth & upsweep of the plant. By slowly rotating the plant, a front, back & sides are starting to suggest themselves, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Whenever I bring plants home, I usually water & sometimes feed them, and I thoroughly watered this little guy..noticed that the water seemed to almost run-through almost instantly, & checking with my magic water-wand (it's a hygrometer) discovered that the plant was moist at the top 3 - 4 inches, & moist at the bottom, but the middle was bone-dry..right where you would expect the main root ball to be. 

Before we do any more pruning or anything else, I decided we have to get this plant hydrated, so I left him to sit overnight in a tray with 3-4 inches of water, hoping the water would rise via osmosis & water the middle..this helped, but it did not completely solve the problem..I won't proceed with any more styling until I have de-potted & looked at the dry area..I hope that the rootball has not grown into a solid mass, but won't really know what's going on until I take him out of his pot & get a better look.

Once I got him out of the pot & took a close look, the middle 3-4 inches of the soil was bone-dry..I think that this middle layer became impacted when  he was re-potted at some point, still root-bound, without loosening-up the existing roots or soil..looks like they just added soil. This changed my plan to re-pot sometime in the future, after he had a chance to adjust & recover from pruning, I had already done.

So, I began test-fitting into training pots to see where he could go with the least amount of root pruning possible. It is considered a "no-no" to prune both foliage & roots at the same time, but in this case, it was necessary..hope I don't kill him.

Next, I had to comb-out his very tightly coiled roots, removing old soil at the same time & getting a good look at the root system. (There is a special tool called a root fork, but I just use a chopstick) Slowly reduced the rootball into a manageable size & removed as much of the old soil as I could & re-potted into a training pot.

Now there's nothing left to do but wait & watch, water & feed & try to keep this little tree alive long enough to survive the process.  Ideally, next spring  he should be ready for more root pruning & a re-pot into a another Bonsai-style training pot.

Nov. 28 - Update

It's been about 30 days since I styled & potted the "Blue Star" & from all appearances, he's doing fine. He seems happy in the training pot & is taking water, which is one indication he is adjusting to his new life.

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.

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. 

Jan 26

This photo was taken this early-morning & with the plant backlit, it is possible to see the extent of the browning & what I think is the re-greening, after drying out & the use of Hydrogen Peroxide to aid the process.                                                                                                                                           You can't see from this picture, but there is new, young growth just starting from the crotch of more than one branch.                                                                                                                                     Unless I'm fooling myself, I am becoming optimistic that the Blue Star is going to 'live long & thrive.'

 

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