Certain cultivated junipers often do this. Geographic location?

Lenewee County - south central michigan.

so now you are stalking MY COUNTY ... and you still cant find me ...

most juniper on the roadsides.. in MI ... are virginianna ... however you spell it ...

Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Red-cedar, Red Cedar, Eastern Juniper, Red Juniper, Pencil Cedar)

otherwise known as the most invasive conifer i know of ...

probably some juvenile foliage there ...

but i will leave full ID the the sperts .. as in experts ..

ken

Yes, you'd expect it to be that one.

"Juniperus virginiana (Eastern Red-cedar, Red Cedar, Eastern Juniper, Red Juniper, Pencil Cedar)

otherwise known as the most invasive conifer i know of ..."

Ken, this species isn't invasive because it's native to your country...

And it isn't a cedar, either!

Resin

So what's the deal with this one? The one rising behind it makes it look like it's not all juvenile growth, but 99% of it is. The whole thing is about 12' tall, it has a good thick trunk, and it's a slightly different color than most of the junipers in the area.

I'll try to get a better picture on my way home.

Maybe most of it is one huge witch's broom? With the 'juvenile' foliage being the little bit of normal growth?

Resin

Like I said, this kind of aberration, whatever it is specifically is common on certain kinds of cultivated junipers (Pfitzer types etc.). So apparently it sometimes happens with J. virginiana also, because the one shown here looks otherwise like that species.

The next step would be to study it more closely, make some comparisons with junipers of known identification elsewhere in the area to see where it falls.

Here, the big, grey, blue Pfitzers are especially prone to it.
I've noticed that there is a correlation as to where it occurs and poor drainage and sometimes, shade. Perhaps the cause is fungal.
Your juniper has none of those circumstances, however.
Mike...at a loss

well.. out here in the country .... that road might be plowed at 60 mph.. and that plant might be hit often ... hence its shape/form..

one thing for sure.. they use sand out here.. so its not a salt issue ...

joy ... are you messing with me??? ... all i meant was that i can count them by the thousands.. on the roads and highways of MI .... and as such.. they are the most invasive I KNOW OF ... and i didnt mean that as a term of horticultural art.. i just meant they are everywhere... and no one planted them ...

what road is that????

ken

Ken, no messing here, but invasive is when it don't belong there but is around in big numbers.
Juniperus virginiana belongs to your country and was always there which means that it is a native species which can never be invasive...

yes joy .. words mean things.. and i used the wrong word ...

i understand you are using it as a 'term of art' .. within the horticultural definition of such ...

i was not using it that way .. i mean it self-sows itself .. via birds.. EVERYWHERE ...

if you would prefer ... i will change my comment from:

otherwise known as the most invasive conifer i know of ...

to:

otherwise known as the most AGGRESSIVE self-sown conifer i know of ...

--->>> seriously.. i kill them by the dozens every year ... that is NOT a good thing ...

ken

"otherwise known as the most AGGRESSIVE self-sown conifer i know of ..."

Ken, that's a much better way to discribe the situation.

Some more pictures. Trunk at the base is about 2' wide.

It's on 127, a couple miles north of 12, Ken.

It looks that it's heavy attacked by some mite...

Eriophyes junipereti ??