I would not bareroot the tree but find a larger container, wider preferable, stick the whole rootball in tack in the larger pot, fill the sides with some potting soil, watered it and leave it alone for a few weeks and see what happens. There is enough goodies in potting soil for a while.

I would repot it and not bare root it either but I would NOT put it into a wider pot. Instead, I would put it into a DEEPER pot to ensure that the perched water table is away from the roots. My concern is root rot. I would foliar feed, as you said you would.

My concern is root root, too. I've gotten plants in this mix before, and i feel like it stays wet too long. It is from Saxon becnel growers, so I suppose it is decent enough.

Sounds like you guys think bare rooting will be too much stress?

I definitely want to change the pot. Drives me nuts that they cram these plants together to ship and every pot gets bent out of round. I have leftover mix from the same grower, so I could indeed put in a taller pot. Bob, why do you suggest wider?

I will drill tons of aeration holes in the pot, maybe that will help.

Also noticed that those yellowed leaves have green ones below and above them.

Staying wet to long is not a problem at all *IF* the medium has good aeration (approx. 25%). The water content in a good aerated container is never the problem, lack of root zone aeration is what causes the problem. If a tree is to be transplanted it is not normally just put into the same size container, unless it is root pruned and then returned to it original container. Other wise it should be put into a new larger container (2-3 inches larger). I would also NOT bare root that tree. The tree is also in dire need of iron.

I do not have iron on hand.

Do you think simply using peters 25-5-15 ( Iron 0.1250%) would be sufficient, in time?

I saw some ironite dry fertilizer 12-10-10 a few weeks ago, but it lists iron sucrate and appears not to be chelated iron. Otherwise, I can certainly order chelated iron from online sources.

Whoever owned the tree before you purchased it did not take care of the tree. Peters 25-5-15 does contain iron, at a maintenance level. Chelate iron would do wonders for this tree.

Vlad, a small plant need a pot that is appropriate in size, you are insinuating the size of a bathtub. Most tree's from mailorder co's are small to cut cost. I prefer wider pots because citrus roots like to go wide, but that does not means that a deeper pot will kill that tree. Second, if you know how to make or buy your potting mix you should not have any problems with root rot. I bought used Rootmaker 5 gls containers 24 for $ 50.00 shipping included, best things i bought a few years ago. Furthermore if you a put tree in a oversize pot you do not have to fill it to the top, i hate having all kinds of pots laying around.

Come spring you can then use that pot again and that would be good for the next 3 years.

Bob, I said a deeper pot I did not mean a larger pot. You suggested a larger pot.

A wide Rootmaker pot would probably not be a problem because the holes on the sides help the water to drain and evaporate and thus make root rot less likely to develop. But you did not suggest purchasing a Rootmaker pot.

Where did you get your Rootmaker pots at such a low price? I would love to get some.

What does a larger pot means to you? To go from 6" to 8" is a larger pot. A small tree go easily in a 5 gls pot. When you go to E/Bay look-up Rootmaker pots, they are used but in good shape, not real clean. A.M Leonard sells them for $60 some dollars for 10 pots. Tree's sure like them, me too.Btw, that figtree is now 66" tall

Hibiscus, you should be able to purchase chelae iron at most any nursery or garden center.