Sap droplets from Yamadori western juniper

[Matt3839]

So my yamadori juniper is in its first spring post collection and it’s started to leak sap from one area on the trunk and progressed to droplets all over the trunk. I checked the large leak for borers but didn’t notice anything under the bark. But lately it’s just started producing small droplets all over the trunk.

Tree gets watered about once a week when the pumice starts to dry, hasn’t had any dieback yet, and only a few tiny sprigs of growth so far. It was kept in shade and misted after collection but now it’s in moderate sun.

Just wondering if this is normal or anything I should look into? Please let me know if the photos show the sap drops or the quality isn’t good enough.

 

[River's Edge]

image 6228 shows two collections of droplets. This is what my Sierra Juniper looked like when it had larvae tunnelling under the bark, It took sometime to discover the holes made and the damage. I would suggest checking the entire tree including deadwood for the tunnels and pin point holes from previous activity. If there is any evidence of previous activity I would recommend a systemic treatment. Keep in mind that if termites are involved they will be working away in the deadwood which is not affected by systemic treatments.

 

[Matt3839]

image 6228 shows two collections of droplets. This is what my Sierra Juniper looked like when it had larvae tunnelling under the bark, It took sometime to discover the holes made and the damage. I would suggest checking the entire tree including deadwood for the tunnels and pin point holes from previous activity. If there is any evidence of previous activity I would recommend a systemic treatment. Keep in mind that if termites are involved they will be working away in the deadwood which is not affected by systemic treatments.

Ok I’ll peel away all the bark and inspect closer. I have some safari which I can use. Hopefully that wipes them out

 

[Ruddigger]

Peel the bark and inspect just in case there are borers, but this also happens when junipers are growing strongly. My californias do this often with no borer issues.

 

[The Barber]

If you do find borer holes when you clean up the bark, I would inject insecticide into their holes then seal them up, wrap them with Saran wrap, it will assist in fuming them. The larvae work pretty fast and can do pretty substantial damage before a systemic fully works, but I would use a systemic as well. I hope Rudd is right though and that it is just growing pains. It wouldn't hurt to clean up the bark anyways. Good luck.

 

[Scriv]

So my yamadori juniper is in its first spring post collection and it’s started to leak sap from one area on the trunk and progressed to droplets all over the trunk. I checked the large leak for borers but didn’t notice anything under the bark. But lately it’s just started producing small droplets all over the trunk.

Tree gets watered about once a week when the pumice starts to dry, hasn’t had any dieback yet, and only a few tiny sprigs of growth so far. It was kept in shade and misted after collection but now it’s in moderate sun.

Just wondering if this is normal or anything I should look into? Please let me know if the photos show the sap drops or the quality isn’t good enough.

To check for Borers, you need to dig deeper than what I'm seeing in the pictures. The striations in the bark indicate that you still have a way to go before reaching the cambial layer. You should be hitting bright white tissue right over those pitch pores where the sap is leaking. Don't worry about marring the live vein, it'll heal over quickly.

That said, I second what Rudd posted... I have plenty of junipers that push sap and it isn't a pest issue more often than not.