New with trees, need help with pine

[juliern]

Hello everyone,
My family recently took over a house that has a big tree in the back - we think it's a Japanese Black Pine? We noticed a few weeks ago that tips of some needles look dried up, almost like the tips of burning incense. It is only appearing on some clusters of needles, not on the entire tree. I've reached out to some local tree care services but they seem to specialize in tree removal or trimming only. Also, are the pollen cones supposed to be left alone or should they be removed? They are sprouting up everywhere. Any help would be so greatly appreciated! This is the first tree I've ever had to take care of!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

The brown tips are from where the needles were cut/sheared. Which is why we shouldn’t do it for bonsai.
Don’t bother removing the pollen cones, they’re mostly spent and don’t consume much energy. They’ll drop off on their own.
Treat it for needle cast, I use Mancozeb Spray and Cleary’s 3336 granular. It doesn’t look bad, but doesn’t take much to get out of hand.

 

[juliern]

The brown tips are from where the needles were cut/sheared. Which is why we shouldn’t do it for bonsai.
Don’t bother removing the pollen cones, they’re mostly spent and don’t consume much energy. They’ll drop off on their own.
Treat it for needle cast, I use Mancozeb Spray and Cleary’s 3336 granular. It doesn’t look bad, but doesn’t take much to get out of hand.

Thank you so much! Where should I be looking to tell there is needle cast? Also, do you recommend using both fungicides together? Or is there a preference on one over the other?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Thank you so much! Where should I be looking to tell there is needle cast? Also, do you recommend using both fungicides together? Or is there a preference on one over the other?

Needle cast shows up as a brown dot somewhere along the needle, with a yellow band above and below it. Google it.
I do use both fungicides. Mancozeb is a prophylactic sorry, and Cleary’s is a granular systematic sprinkled on the soil.