My two year old pomegranate seedling has been developing dry, crispy brown spots and losing leaves. I don't know if this is related at all, but some of its leaves are turning dark purple, so it's stressed in some way. Otherwise the tree itself as a whole looks pretty okay!

It's been living in a gallon container for the past year, so I'm wondering if it's just root bound, and if so whether trimming its roots would allow it to keep growing while still living in the same container, since I'm low on space for larger pots. Or maybe it's just drying out too quickly and if I water it more often it might be happier?

I also gave it slow release fertilizer recently as well, so another possibility is that I accidentally overfed it while experimenting with portions.