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Saw this young Juniper today (belongs to a family member) not looking very healthy and almost falling out of the pot. I suspected over-watering, so I washed the roots to get a closer look. The roots appear to be very dark but feels strong, no strange smells. Not sure how dead ‘mushy’ roots would feel like. I suspect that it is suffering from root rot from the color.

I also did a scratch test in 2 locations (at base and two inch above), however I’m confused on whether or not it is alive. I read that you should expect to see a white inner stem, and that the green layer isn’t so pronounced but has more of a reddish colour. From the youtube videos I’ve seen for fruit trees, I would consider it dead, however I do see a white inner layer, and a thin and very light green layer. Could someone please help me confirm the state of this juniper? Thanks.

I don't think it was a good idea to take it out of the pot and i hope it is back in now. If you have had it inside then that is the cause of the problem. It may survive but it is very stressed and may be too far gone.

m5eaygeoff wrote: It may survive but it is very stressed and may be too far gone.

This one is beyond recovery and probably dead already.

A scratch test... you really should not do that on seedlings.

Thanks you both for the info . I didn’t know the scratch test was bad for seedlings :S, a lot of sites recommended scratching the bark with a fingernail. Is there another way of checking whether seedlings are alive besides the scratch test?

The seedling was kept outside in a sunny but sheltered position. I saw it slouched to one side of the pot, so I brought it inside during the evening to replant. Just for clarification, was root rot present and how severe was it if so?

So sad to see the internet fail again..

Root rot is a condition that takes place AFTER roots die. They are not the cause of death. Drying out of overwatering are comon reasons for roots dying.
Scratching the bark is a sur way to open the tree up to more infections. SO I never do this. You know whether a tree is alive by watching it be lush green and growing. In winter trees may be dormant and drop leaves and turn colour. But the rest of the year it should be easy to identify a living from a dead tree.

WeavingBird1917 wrote: I didn’t know the scratch test was bad for seedlings

The scratch test is only useful to see if a tree is dead. If you do see live tissue, that still doesn't tell you much about the state of the tree, except that it's not fully dead yet. It won't tell you much about it's chances.

Doing a scratch test on such a thin and soft seedling is like slithing ones wrist to see if they're still alive. Look at the damage...