You pictures appear to show that the browning is confined to the inner foliage.  Although it's a bit early, this could be normal annual needle shedding.  Despite being called "evergreen," the foliage on conifers such as pine, arborvitae, spruce, and Chamaecyparis (false cypress) are only held for a limited number of years; the number of years depends on the species.  They shed older foliage annually and this can sometimes look pretty dramatic.

The shedding usually occurs in the fall or the spring, again depending on the species.  However, environmental conditions can hasten the event.  But it does not mean the tree is in trouble.

Here's where things can be very confusing.  You will not see the inner foliage shed on young trees.  But as they become older, eventually they have foliage that's of the age that it will be shed.

I would urge that you never fertilize trees without a soil test to learn if there is a nutrient deficiency.  Chamaecyparis is very sensitive to damage by "mineral salts" which arise when we have too much of a good thing.  The "salts" often involve phosphorus and potassium.  This is the danger of trying to use fertilizer to correct a problem without having the soil tested first to make sure you actually need to apply fertilizer and to make sure you don't apply too much.