Heh, I don't actually even know where the gnats came from cuz I didn't think I was watering that often. If you think it still looks to be alive, I'll dry the soil out and try and keep an eye on it. I couldn't tell if the buds are alive still. thanks for your diagnosis, we'll see what happens :O

It's a.... I wanna say it was a Dwarf Mahar? I got it on Logees like... 2 years ago. I can't remember which of the two dwarf carambola I got. True to their word though, it only grows about 4ft tall. Mine has never given me fruit though so I can't tell you if the species I have is sweet or not lol. I've found that star fruit is really hit or miss. Sometimes it's mild and a little bit earthy tasting. Sometimes it's a little more citrus-y. In general though, they're not as strongly flavored as something like an orange.

does it still have those leaves from the top picture?

It does but they’re dry and crunchy around the edges and they don’t look like they’ll stay on that much longer.

With those leaves withering like that while still green it doesn't look good. It does look like overwatering/root rot. If you're going into your growing season leave it to see if you get any new growth, but don't be surprised if you don't.

I've got B10 which I like. But from general comments I've seen on forums fruit grown in different climates and/or conditions can taste quite different even if the same variety. Years go I scattered seed from shop bought fruit. The trees grew fast and produced a lot of fruit, but it tasted quite insipid. Don't know what variety the bought fruit was but from memory it wasn't too bad, however, trees from their seed produced very ordinary fruit.

Hmmm... yea I had a feeling the gnats were a bad sign. I let the tree sit outside (it’s been nice and warm the last couple days) and it’s like... trying it’s best?

When they have few leaves they need less water. I have one that's in very dry conditions for half the year. It stays small but still keeps going. Watch the new shoots carefully. Any sign of wilting and they'll need some water.

i have a moisture meter that i use for all my plants. It helps tremendously when i need to figure out if something is over or under watered. You can pick one up off amazon for a few $. Definitely something helpful to have around.

Any update on the star fruit

Gah, sorry I got busy. The one branch with leaves on it up there started growing even more leaves and had a whole bunch of mini buds, but nothing else on the tree was showing any signs of life. In the end, I decided to scrap the tree.

I was surprised at how few gnats there were once I did disturb the soil. I couldn't see anything wrong with the roots, but for experimental purposes I snapped the tree in half. The inside of the main trunk was still soft like it was alive but was a pale yellow. I don't know what that tells me but now I know. I got tired of looking at it in it's poor sad state and decided it was time to get rid of it.

Thanks for all the tips you guys gave me though :) Maybe if I get another one someday, I won't make as many mistakes.

Plants with water molds rotting the roots often have sections of dead roots mixed with ones that are still alive. This pattern can be reflected in the top with much of it dead at the same time that the rest of it is still trying to function normally.

Water molds can be a significant and indigenous problem anywhere environmental conditions result in chronically damp to wet soils, both in containers and in the ground.

Put it in shade during the summer (hazard of drying out greatly trumps need for sun in this case). It's good that you have wood chips covering the top, but that soil does not look like it's the best for holding water and staying moist.

Also keep consistently watered.