Japanese white pine browning tips

Horticulture
1

I acquired this tree over the winter. It was not in very good shape. It had lots of very thin branches and thin trunk for its age (I was told 25 years old). I pruned back a bunch of branches around February just to see what was really going on at the trunk.
A few weeks ago I repotted as it was pretty root-bound and i wanted to start growing the trunk and branches to gain thickness.
Over the past few days the needles have started to brown at the tips. The foliage was never strong to begin with. Needles were very weak, not like any JWP I had ever seen.
I am 99% confident this tree is over watered due to the larger pot I put it in which is causing the browning tips and the extreme amount of water we have been getting in the North East (Long Island, NY).

What can I do to save it at this point. Is it too late to repot again with a new 1:1:1 substrate? I have begun to take the tree inside when there is rain in the forecast and the weather is beginning to warm up. It is showing good new candle growth but I am still worried for its health. Any advise is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Michael Hagedorn in his book “Bonsai Heresy” describes corrective measures taken to stabilize tree decline from environmental and pathogen stressors. The technique he describes on pages 110-111 is slipping a trees root ball into a wooden box or Anderson flat and surround the original soil mass with 100% pumice 1/3 inch in size. Care is taken not to disturb the root ball. Two inches of pumice around the side walls and the bottom is about right. I have a Ponderosa Pine that I am treating in this way. Hope both of our pines make it!
Getting oxygen into the soil and not allowing water to accumulate is the goal to get healthy roots, and therefore a healthy tree.
Good luck

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Thanks for the info! I might have to check out the book as well.

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Available on Stone Lantern. Books – Stone Lantern
I wish I had known the root temperature information 20 years ago! My dead tree collection would be smaller. :thinking: