Juniper bonsai foliage has developed white tips.

[glacon]

I noticed that one of my more recent junipers has developed strange white tips on a lot of the folliage. I've never experienced this with any of the junipers I've had for a while. Does anyone have experience with this and/ or know what the cause is?

 

[Esolin]

Those are either 'flowers' or 'seed pod' starts. Perfectly normal and fine in the Spring.

 

[0soyoung]

How 'bout we call them male pollen cones?

 

[Esolin]

Or pollen cones, yes. There are some huge old Chinese junipers in my yard that produce both those little pale pronged growths, and later on seed pods, so I assumed one led to the other.

 

[glacon]

Interesting. It almost looked to me like those tips might have been bitten off. The seem shorter and less bulbous than the others that are starting to produce new growth. That said, they do look like little flowers.

 

[0soyoung]

seem shorter and less bulbous than the others that are starting to produce new growth.

That is true. Those 'threads' with a cone at the end will branch a bit farther back on the green = just like you pinched the tip off.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

How 'bout we call them male pollen cones?

They're not male pollen cones. Pollen cones look like this.

 

[Hbhaska]

I zoomed in and they look like the faces of pure evil. One eyed and two eyed monsters. Truly menacing.

.
Just kidding, they do look like flowers

 

[SgtPilko]

Yep my little shimpaku has these too since late January I'd say - at first I thought it was bad news but appear to be tiny jewel-like flowers and no adverse behaviour anywhere else on the plant - think we're OK... for now! Took a while to find reassurance on the net though. Doubt there are any females within 1km radius for mine, poor guy

 

[WavyGaby]

Thank you Google for taking me back to the Nuthouse!
My friend noticed similar white tips in interior growth when he brought his juniper over last week. I noticed some on a couple of my junipers for the first time and Ive had these for at least five years.
I also appear to have a needle tip blight on one of the junipers. This particular juniper was root bound and didnt grow well last year. Time to spray!