Many times plants in the juniper, cedar and cypress families get affected by spider mites. This causes the foliage to brown out, dry out and eventually kill that foliage and the entire plant if not caught in time. A simple test to find out if your plants are affected by mites is the following. Take a white sheet of paper and put it up against the plant about midway up. Shake the plant. If dots appear on the paper, rub and press on them and see if you see red. If red appears, your plant is affected by spider mites.
A good cure for spider mites is a Miticide or Neem Oil. Apply per directions, but you’ll get best results if after initial treatment you then reapply 7 days later to kill off any hatched eggs in that 7 day time frame. Applying a Miticide or Neem Oil 3 times a year (Spring, Summer and Fall) is a GREAT preventative measure even if you don’t have spider mites.
