Juniper Chinensis tips keep getting brown

[wastedanima]

Hi!
This is my very first tree and I've been struggling with it, it is a shimpaku juniper, for the last few weeks the tree keeps getting brown tips but lately it gets some areas of foliage that progressively turn completely brown, I've been trimming those zones off but I've noticed some tips start going brown again, also the lower part of the tree is like crispy and gets something white on the leaves as if they were dry. I've been watering it as soon as the soil starts to feel dry, that's probably every 1-2 days since it has been cloudy lately, the tree is placed outside and it receives direct sunlight maybe from 10 am until 1pm, rest of the day it receives indirect sunlight and the max temperatures where I live are about 29°C (85°F), I've been fertilizing it every month but the new growth started looking weird as if I were over fertilizing it so I plan to fertilize every 2 months now (based on what i've been reading), fertilizer is slow release (N4%)(P<1)(K5%), tree is also about 7 years old and they told me it wouldn't need repotting probably until a year or so from now.

Can you give any advice on what I've been doing wrong?

 

[Japonicus]

Welcome to the club.
Could you update your profile to include a general location and grow zone?
It would also be helpful to include some pictures of the entire tree.

FWIW I fertilize every Sunday, most often full strength miracle gro
for my junipers but of course not if it were sick, or during a heat wave.

Inspect the white areas with a loop or magnifying glass, compare to photos of scale insect.
A photo taken in macro and posted would also be beneficial.

Inspect for mites using the white paper test. Tap several branches with a piece of white paper
underneath. Set on level surface and wipe your fingers across the paper and dirt.
if you see smears from the bits of debris, most likely spider mites.

 

[wastedanima]

Welcome to the club.
Could you update your profile to include a general location and grow zone?
It would also be helpful to include some pictures of the entire tree.

FWIW I fertilize every Sunday, most often full strength miracle gro
for my junipers but of course not if it were sick, or during a heat wave.

Inspect the white areas with a loop or magnifying glass, compare to photos of scale insect.
A photo taken in macro and posted would also be beneficial.

Inspect for mites using the white paper test. Tap several branches with a piece of white paper
underneath. Set on level surface and wipe your fingers across the paper and dirt.
if you see smears from the bits of debris, most likely spider mites.

Hi!
I updated my zone info and did the spider mites test, nothing came off. Here are some closer pictures to the white zone and also some pictures of the tree. White zones are only located on the lowest part of the tree, the rest seems normal, I watched scale insect photos and they look like bumps, the white spots in my tree look more as if it were some powder, giving the leaves a dry look.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

The powder looks an awful lot like salt build up (calcium carbonate).

Something looks a bit off in the interior of the juniper on the fifth photo posted above.

Seems like a water issue. Wondering, are you using tap water or bottled water on this tree…?

cheers
DSD sends

 

[wastedanima]

The powder looks an awful lot like salt build up (calcium carbonate).

Something looks a bit off in the interior of the juniper on the fifth photo posted above.

Seems like a water issue. Wondering, are you using tap water or bottled water on this tree…?

cheers
DSD sends

I've always used tap water, I use a hand sprayer that I refill probably every week

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

The white nubs look like juniper scale aphids to me, I have those every other year or so.

I have a similar sized juniper in a similar sized pot and it needs water on a daily basis. I forgot to water it a couple times and the tips went brown.

 

[Shibui]

I've always used tap water, I use a hand sprayer that I refill probably every week

Agree that there appears to be mineral build up on the lower trunk and roots and maybe on the foliage. It shows up as white crust on the plant and sometimes on the soil. Lots of fertilizer also contributes to mineral accumulation.
Maybe a hand sprayer is not enough water through summer. The soil looks very fine but when we water a bonsai the water should run right through the soil and out the bottom of the pot.
Watering with plenty of water makes sure the water gets right to the middle of the root ball so all roots get the chance to take water. Just misting may wet to outer soil but inside it may still be dry.
If you just mist the soil, whatever minerals are in the water accumulate as the water evaporates. The more you spray the more minerals (salts) accumulate in the soil. Some salts are harmless but others can affect tree roots. Flushing the soil with water helps wash away minerals.

There is something not quite right about the foliage. I can't see any bugs but suspect there may be something there hiding under the foliage scales. A pesticide won't hurt and may help if there is a problem. Try an oil based spray or a systemic insecticide if you can get either. If it turns out to be mites insecticide won't kill them - you'll need a special miticide to deal with mites.

Sometimes trimming can produce brown tips on juniper but it does not usually progress further than just near the cut ends so probably not trimming that's causing the problems here.

 

[bwaynef]

I think I see a few scale insects. They're not the cause of this tree's troubles, but they're not doing it any favors. They're more a symptom of a problem.

The problems are likely soil and water quality related. Possibly watering technique as well.

Do you guys have hard water? Does limescale build up on things? If you've just got the one tree and want to experiment, you could buy bottled water for this tree though it'll take some time to see results. You may could set up a rainwater catchment system.

If water pools on the soil for any period of time, I'd suggest repotting it into inorganic fast draining soil in the spring. You may could break open the soil a bit until repotting season comes to aid drainage. (Icepick or screwdriver not QUITE to the bottom of the pot, so that water can spread thru the soil rather than going straight down and thru the bottom of the pot.) I've had to do that, but its a poor replacement for a proper repotting.

Also, how in the world are you guys cooler than where I'm at in SC. We're heading for 99F this weekend having been mid-90s for a while now.

Don't fertilize until this tree is healthy.

 

[Japonicus]

I use a hand sprayer that I refill probably every week

Consider that when you water a plant in a pot, that you want to fill the pot with water.
Then consider how long it would take to fill a cereal bowl with water using miat.

I've been watering it…every 1-2 days

I’m surprised it is still alive, but you did mention crispy foliage, so maybe not.
Im watering 2 times a day this week with highs around 90F.

 

[wastedanima]

The white nubs look like juniper scale aphids to me, I have those every other year or so.

I have a similar sized juniper in a similar sized pot and it needs water on a daily basis. I forgot to water it a couple times and the tips went brown.

Thank you! I will look into it.

 

[wastedanima]

Consider that when you water a plant in a pot, that you want to fill the pot with water.
Then consider how long it would take to fill a cereal bowl with water using miat.

I mean, I use one of those pressure hand sprayers that you pump and then you just press a button, I think it is enough, I always wait until water starts coming out of the draining holes and then. water a bit mora just to make sure

I’m surprised it is still alive, but you did mention crispy foliage, so maybe not.
Im watering 2 times a day this week with highs around 90F.

not all of the foliage feels like that, just the one that's covered with the white stuff, which is just a few leaves. I always water when the top soil starts feeling dry, but these last few weeks we've been having rains and it's been really cloudy so the top soil never really loses that dark-just watered color, should I water anyway?
The only reason I don't water daily is because I see the top soil still looks like it's damp, I also use wooden sticks to check the deeper parts of the soil and the stick comes out damp most of the times.

 

[Japonicus]

I always wait until water starts coming out of the draining holes and then. water a bit mora

I also use wooden sticks to check the deeper parts of the soil

That's good, and that said now we know you have drainage holes
No, if it does not need watering, based on the info given, do not water anyway.
If I get .25 inches of rain in a day, it is not enough to call watered for the day
unless there is a full deck of clouds all day. Maybe you've been exposed to some
rain bands from Hurricane Hillary before it came ashore on the W side.
A temporary wet spell will not cause your issues.

As @Shibui said the soil looks fine, not ok, but the opposite of coarse, no aggregate visible.
Come Springtime we need to get this into bonsai soil. Unfortunately I cannot
make a recommendation on soil for Mexico heat. Is there any way you can contact the previous owner
and determine what the soil consists of, and how long it's been in that soil?
It appears peat based, but that's just an assumption.
@bwaynef makes good suggestions to aerate the soil which can help in a pinch if the tip death is soil related.
If however there is root rot, it will not help.
Generally once, use maybe a 16d nail, awl, nail type tent stake to gently wiggle between the roots
in multiple places to make the root ball more permeable.

Is this "tree" exposed to full Sun and outdoors? It should be if it is not.
If you were to spray an oil based insecticide such as neem oil, no direct Sun for a few days
then repeat in 7-10 days for 3 applications. Those oval, dome shaped dots we can see here and there
are in numbers that should be manually removed with rubbing alcohol and a Q Tip swab.
Best of luck, I hope we get to the bottom of this. Try to get history from previous owner, and soil make up.