The Juniper is a commonly used landscape plant in Illinois. It comes in a wide variety of forms, mainly as shrubs and groundcovers. Members of the Juniper family include the Eastern Red Cedar, Common Juniper and Chinese Juniper. There are over fifty Juniper species and hundreds of different cultivars. Unfortunately, there are also a variety of diseases and insects that affects Junipers.

Juniper Scale is an insect that attacks Juniper and Cypress plants, most commonly Eastern Red Cedar, Irish Juniper, Savin Juniper and Chinese Juniper species. The adult female scale will overwinter on their host and lay eggs in mid to late May. The young crawlers emerge approximately 1-2 weeks later and begin feeding immediately. Chemical control is an option for heavy infestations, but must be done during the crawler stage when the insect is vulnerable. Removing heavily infested branches is also an option, but isn’t practical when a majority of the plant is affected.

Damage symptoms from Juniper Scale include yellow and brown foliage, needles become straw-like and heavy infestations may cause plant death. Do you suspect Juniper Scale? Contact the PHC Department to have a Certified Arborist inspect your landscape.