dig a small hole.. and find out how much water is actually getting into the root zone ... is the tree properly mulched??? next time skip the fert in the hole ... dont fixate on that now... insure PROPER water through dormancy .... it is NOT uncommon .. on transplanted trees to show high signs of stress ... during it first or second summer after transplant .... perhaps just a survival mechanism... reducing leaf count to the truncated root system ... as long as they dont all turn brown and fall off 2 months before they are supposed too ... i would give it high odds of returning.. subject to the pix ... and even early dormancy.. wouldnt be fatal ... with a redbud ... starting with a smaller tree .... would probably have avoided this... they just adapt faster on the root to leaf ratio .... good luck ken

Hi,I have killed several citrus trees in similar fashion.The older leaves have turned yellow and dropped from the bottom up.Do they leave the little stalk left on the tree attached to the trunk? Thats what always happened to me.I have grown to realise that it is too much water that causes that.I have also found adding a couple of teaspoons of epsom salts each time you feed helps the plant take up the nitrogen and greens your leaves.Water deeply and leave to almost dry out,the roots need air,thats what killed my trees before i reckon. You can use warm water with a little washing liquid for the compacted rootball you have.Water with slightly warm water each time. I recently bought a new orange tree and put it in a very free draining container mix.I also have tried this superthrive on advice from others here.My tree looks greener,it was a bit yellow on top.Do the leaves curl up from the sides in a u shape? Thats too much water.I water every 9 days and its summer here.Do the stick your finger down 3 inches bit,if it comes out dry water, if soil is sticky dont water. Good luck,there should be plenty here who know more than me.cheers

Hi Patty S. :-) I wil send a picture in the morning, and thank you so much for your helpful comment! I have been to afraid to fertelize, somehow, different opinions on how, what and when to fertelize, and all the harm the wrong fertelizer can do, has scared the living daylights out of me! I haven't fertelized for about 6-7 months now, and with all the rain "washing away all the plant's food" i am sure it is about time again. I wasn't too worried about the buds not opening as, as you said, the temps have been low, but the sudden yellowing of the leaves got me worried about my little one. I also wondered if i souldn't maybe get rid of some of the buds to get rid of some of the stress on my plant, but somehow something is telling me that if that was what was bothering the plant it would have gotten rid of them it self? I wil try and fertelize it as you recomended, maybe that is all the little guy needs. Thank you once again for the kind ear, and advice. I will send a picture as soon as posible. Kind regards. Nandi

Willard, I've read your flower drop probable causes in other threads, but looking at them, the only one I might have is too much nitrogen. 1. Day temp 80-90 2. Night temp 65-70 3. This is the only one i could thinkg of. 7-9-5 4. I don't think my pepper is getting too much water 5. In the sun all day 6. Average humidity 7. Outside with plenty of wind 8. Lots of bees outside, anyways the buds usually drop before they open 9. 3 galllon bucket filled with gravel for medium sized plant (2 ft) Well, I'm not sure about this one either So I'm not sure what my problem is, unless it's too much nitrogen. I'm planning on getting some bloom nutrient soon to try.