I would say , put it in the ground , BUT I don't live anywhere near Houston so I do not know what people do for them in your neck of the woods.. They have long tap roots that want a big root run. A bigger pot, especially , a deeper one if you absolutely need to keep it ing a pot. I never grew one in a pot. I looks like their ids a lot of room in that pot for more dirt. I would find out if one can pot it in the ground where you are and what you need to do to the soil to make them happy there.

Yes, I was wondering if your TML was out in the Houston deluge. Ours seem to drop leaves like that when
they're getting more water than they like in our blackland prairie clay
in spite of a well-draining site and pot. They've just recently been
bouncing back from the heavy spring rains in north Texas. Appear to be
resilient plants even in unnatural (to them) clay if you can keep
the roots from rotting.... or being chopped off during transplant.

The
budding ~4ft plant we bought was happy and did not appear root-bound in
its 6 gal container. In fact, was a bit surprised not to find roots trying to grow out the bottom. Agree better in the ground, but wouldn't have any
reservations up-sizing pots at least through this size... which should be another 3 to 5 years at the rate they grow for us :-(

I love these, and mine have always been slow growers, either in pot or in ground.

I would bet that it is getting too much water. The plant is native to the dry areas in west and central Texas. I had a seedling planted in my backyard in Houston and the seedling died after the ground had standing water for a day or two. I would recommend planting it in the ground if you have a dryer area, or keeping it potted and not letting it have too much water. It looks like it still has some life in it.

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I can attest to the fact that they do extremely well in alkaline soil. When we first moved here I bought a large specimen that had been dug in the wild. When the hole was dug for it there was nothing but white caliche on the bottom and all sides. I thought "Oh my goodness. Can anything grow in that?"

When the root ball of the Mountain Laurel was unwrapped all I could see was white caliche. So when the white caliche root ball was dropped into the white caliche hole it was 'a match made in heaven' ... or should I say 'a match made in Texas!' LOL It's over twenty feet tall now and almost as wide.

Not sure if adding some lime to the soil would help it along, but that might be a consideration. Around here where they grow naturally I'd say their growth rate is more on the slow side of medium rather than slow.

Thanks everyone. I transplanted it into the biggest pot I could buy-needed 5 ft3 of dirt-lots of rocks for drainage. The roots were soaked in the old pot. I lease so I don't want to put it in the ground just yet.

Vincent, my son put his in the ground 4 years ago, and it's at least 6' tall. It was about 3' when he purchased it, and since it isn't a fast grower, would have to say it's doing well. It does seem to drop leaves with excess water, so he uses the hose to water it, moderately. The recent winds from a storm in Austin slightly uprooted it, but he straightened it, stamped on the soil in heavy work boots, and it seems to be doing well. It's just my 'theory', but maybe the pot is too big. Maybe it needs to be rootbound in order to spurt it's growth. After reading Rosalee's post, it makes me think it's either the soil or it likes it's roots all tight together. ;)