Repot into new soil, and when you do it, snip off any obviously black, mushy or slimy roots. Do water once it's done, but when you water in future, remember it's about the frequency, not the amount... e.g. water well when you do it, but watch how often you do it. And... in bonsai, there are humidity trays full of water, but they're also full of pebbles large enough to keep the pots above the water at all times... and you water only from above... like rain does. As Serissa is tropical (or at least semitropical), you do want to use those trays, but do not ever let the water near the drain holes. Good luck.

Can't tell you what the pink lumps are (weird) but I'm pretty sure the holes are from a woodpecker. Old orchards seem to have these on every tree; I think they're looking for borers; I don't know which is worse, the bird or the borer. Applenut

Alright, thank you! I'm just worried because last year it didn't grow too much either. It just seems/seemed so unhealthy and non-vigorous. It did make about 4 delicious fuji apples last year. I'm sad it will take so long! I love the fuji apples much more than anna. :S I live at home and this is the 5th house I've living in for the 20 years of my life. Hopefully I'll get some apples before then! ;P

--"Leaf shows water stress, as in not enough getting to the top. "-- Curious if the soil is reading so soggy why it's having that issue. I wonder what else would stop it from being able to pull the water from the ground. I have a total of 5 trees planted pretty much the same way and all the others dry out in a few days to a week, and this one does not. --"If still hot, temporary shade might help." -- Over the weekend I removed the red wood mulch entirely to see if that helps with the soil drainage, and did a mulching of pure compost in the basin and 1 foot around the bricks for now. Last week I also added a 30% shade sunblock cloth over the tree to hope to reduce the direct heat. So far no change. --"Using your handy ever-present moisture meter -- a finger -- inserted into the soil and rootball is much more reliable than a meter device. "-- I did so and basically found, yet it's damp to moist. Pretty much a less accurate version of what I found by metering. not sure why that is more reliable. --"Also check for borer damage around the graft union"-- Could you be a bit more specific on what I'm looking for an where; I'm a bit new to fruit trees and still figuring it out. Appreciate any additional info. --"When you say you dug a big hole did you dig it deep or wide?'-- Mostly wide, the depth was about the same, maybe a little less than the root ball with about 2-3 feet out in every direction. Since the topsoil in the yard is basically exactly the same as a kid's sandbox - seems like it would need something a bit healthier to get started in. I can take a look to see if it seems like it sunk: but you're saying it should be ok to pull and replant a bit higher if so? --"Is it in a spot where other water may be filtering down to it (at the bottom of a hill, or in a bowl). Other considerations are the type of soil : If it is mostly clay, you may have created a large pot which the water can't get out of." It's on the same level as the rest of the yard and honestly we've had like 0 inches of rain this year so the only water in the yard is what is being applied directly (no runoff to speak of). The soil is sand, very very loose sand. I have a total of 5 trees planted pretty much the same way and all the others dry out in a few days to a week, and this one does not. --"Putting compost in the planting hole was a mistake because it's causing the water to not drain."-- I'm interested in this as the compost had the exact same consistency of the bagged garden soil - so just curious why it would hold water- or are we saying it all will?