Google bagworms on juniper and take a look at the images, brother. I suspect that's what you're seeing. I handpicked the 'bags' and then tossed on some kerosene and burned them.

are the brown tips a winter problem.. or the bug problem ???

im going to suggest ... a J is not going to turn brown all that fast ... might take all winter for that to happen..

were these new plantings in fall ..

ken

IG: Bagworms were pretty much the only thing I came across on the interwebs, but these don't -seem- the same. They are tiny, and they seem to be burrowed into the stem of the brown tips. Maybe early stages?

Ken: Purchased last spring, kept potted all year and over winterered. I only check my pots a few times over winter for soil moisture and there may have been brown tips during winter but certainly when I brought it out it had some brown as you can see in photo, nothing major. It was only just an aesthetic removal of those browned tips that I realize there the worms above in the stems.

do you have the cultivar name ... because its not looking like any of my J. h....

why is it so close to the rock or foundation???

ken

As above: Juniperus horizontalis 'Blue Pygmy'. That is a pretty old specimen, very slow growth rate.