Hi Moonchinka

I could only post 1 picture so it was the one with the white fluff I opted for. I don't think it's mealy bug because the appearance and distribution of the white fluff is very regular in shape and place. I've come across them on other things before. I was wondering about a fungus infection?

Here's another image that should show the browning of the needles. I have been concerned that the whole tree looks less green than before. As I said, I haven't actively been watering the tree since it's been a wet winter. I've even tilted the tree's bowl to help with drainage. I don't have a green house to over-winter and I don't believe stagnant indoors air circulation is good for the plant. So what else might I be able to do please if water is the problem?

Thanks for your opinion.

For one thing, fill the tray with large pebbles to keep the pot from wicking waste water and killing the roots. Wish I could see the pot size relative to the tree, btw. Evergreens routinely do have some of their old needles brown and drop every year, but they're generally close to the trunk in bunches, not isolated odd ones. Are you not fertilizing with something appropriate (tho' not in winter) as lack of nitrogen will cause fading as well.

Here is a pic of the tree relative to the pot size. Shot indoors with flash so it's looking rather warm! Just about able to see the brown needles? Does it help with diagnosis?

When I was given the tree 3 months ago I repotted it with a mix of 3 parts shohin grade akadema, 1 part keto, and part med grain crushed lava. I mixed into it about 8 nuggets of Biogold fertiliser, the well known slow release bonsai fertiliser. There is a small clump of moss sitting on top of the soil as well.

Thanks for your comments.

Hi - I'd remove the moss first, it has to be holding too much water there.

Hi

I got the white fluffy things on one of my pines, I found that if I pulled my fingers along the needles to pull the fluff off, it went a sticky dark colour!

They were Wooly aphids or Adelgids, I just went through all the affected needles pulling them off and squishing them between my thumb and finger :)

Where have you been keeping this tree? Pines and Junipers are temperate plants and will not survive for long indoors. If you have this guy indoors that is where your problem started.

The needles are starting to shrivel and fold in on themselves, this is not a good sign. Usually when a pine looks like this it is dying. It is always a watering problem, too much and the roots rot and the tree dies because it can't get water. To little water the tree dies because it can't get enough water. The end result is always damage to the roots.

Have you looked into something called pine needle scale?