Without asking a single question, I can be almost certain that your tree is suffering from extremely tight roots and a high level of soluble salts in the soil. It probably needs to be fed, but increasing the level of TDS (total dissolved solids - the sum of all the salts that have accumulated from fertilizer solutions and the minerals dissolved in your tap water) by fertilizing could easily kill the plant. [an aside: For others listening in, this is why the EC and TDS levels are very important. An excess of anything soluble in the soil beyond what the plant is capable of using, in relation to the amount of N used, is a detriment.]

My suggestion is that we talk about how to fix the soluble salts problem and start preparing for a full repot, which will include root pruning and bare-rooting/changing soil.

This is all second nature for me, so if you're up for it ......

Al

Thanks Tapla, your info sounds about right. I'm not looking forward to this but I guess it's the right thing to do.

Let's start by flushing the soil of soluble salts so the plant can adequately take up water and nutrients.

Thoroughly saturate the entire soil mass with room temp water and allow it to sit for a half hour. This allows some of the accumulating salts to go dissolve into solution. Then, pour a volume of water at least equal to the volume of the container the plant is in through the soil. Do this several times (5-10) at 10 minute intervals. This should flush almost of the salts from the soil. If you think the soil will remain too soggy and may cause root issues, you can push a cloth wick up into the soil and allow it to hang below the container until water stops dripping from the wick. This, after the last flushing. This will drain additional perched water from the container. Alternately, tilting the container at a 45* angle or depotting the entire root mass after it stops draining and setting it on a newspaper over night will also remove the perched water. After the pot has stopped draining, fertilize with any 3:1:2 ratio fertilizer. (examples: MG or Peter's 24-8-16 granular, MG 12-4-8 liquid, Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 [best, but sometimes more difficult to find]). You CAN use a 1:1:1 ratio fertilizer, but these fertilizers supply more P and K than the plant can use in relationship to N, which unnecessarily raises the level of salts in the soil, which is the reason for this whole exercise. Also, do not use fertilizers labeled for houseplants if the middle number (P) is higher than either the first or third (N or K) numbers. The extra P also contributes considerably to soil salt levels and can cause several other adverse issues with nutrient uptake and soil pH.

If you can, get the plant acclimated slowly to full outdoor sun. It will make a very large difference in how quickly the plant regains vitality so it can easily tolerate the root work. We'll save that for late Jun or early Jul. Don't be fooled into thinking that all is a-ok, just because your plant responds favorably to what I just suggested. You'll be seeing the plant returning a little closer to its genetic (growth) potential, so don't look at it as a healthy 'growth spurt'. That will come AFTER the full repot and root work.

Al