Why Is My Juniper Tree Not Budding in the Spring?

Phomopsis Tip Blight

• A juniper not budding in the spring could be facing an onslaught of three twig and tip blights caused by different species of fungi. Phomopsis tip blight brought on by the pathogen Phomopsis juniperovora. This fungal disease focuses on attacking the growth of new shoots and tips, bypassing mature needles. It produces lesions that strangle small stems, killing them and preventing the budding of the bush. Small, black spots -- the fungal fruiting bodies -- may be seen.

Phomopsis Damage

• Spread by wind and rain and enhanced by warm, wet spring weather, the spores of Phomopsis tip blight that have overwintered on diseased tissue come to life early in the growing season. The disease is capable of surviving for as long as 2 years and, in severe cases, not only will the budding capability of the juniper be hampered, but entire needles, stems, and branches may turn brown and die. If the infection continues unabated for several years, the entire bush may be killed.

Kabatina & Cercospora Blight

• Kabatina tip blight attacks the needles and tips of stems that are approximately 1 year old, preventing the buds on those stems from properly setting. Caused by the fungus Kabatina juniperi, symptoms of this disease appear in February and March, well before that of Phomopsis tip blight.

  Cercospora needle blight caused by the fungus Cercospora sequoiae var. juniperi, alters its destructive path slightly, infecting only the oldest needles and twigs on a juniper, damaging them to them to the extent that they may be unable to properly grow buds.

Winter Wounds

• Winter injury courtesy of extreme cold and ice can damage juniper branches, rendering them incapable of fostering healthy bud production in the spring. Junipers that are prostate or horizontal suffer more of this type of injury than do upright juniper species. While true winter damage may be confused with Kabatina tip blight, injury from ice and cold tends to display as a gradual browning of the wood rather than a sharp distinction between healthy and damaged tissue.