if there is no drainage.. they should have planted high .. i suspect too much water ... if there is little drainage.. in a clay based soil .. throwing some rocks in the bottom of a clay cauldron is not a solution ... water trees.. when they need water.. not on a timer 'system' .. plus deep waterings in addition ... most trees need to nearly dry in between waterings .... though apparently your rain forest plants dont mind.. a tree might ... i do not favor fertilizing an already stressed tree .... you wouldnt give a sick child some steroids to bulk up .... while his feet are rotting in a swamp .... hows that for mixing metaphors .... lol only a soil test will tell you.. what if anything is missing from the soil .... all that said.. it is CA.. and i wouldnt be surprised at all if one with CA background thinks otherwise ... good luck ken

Thanks for all responses. I'm beginning to think that maybe some of the damage is due to a day or two of heavy rains and winds. Even though the tree is under an overhang so did not get direct rain, there was definitely major winds. I should have moved it out of that area. The tree is planted just as it was in it's previous pot from the nursery except for in a larger pot. In terms of leaves slightly curling downwards instead of being flatter, does this usually mean too little water or too much? Or could this all be a reaction to too much daily wind? There is a slight breeze throughout the day, but nothing crazy. there is a lot of pollen from a nearby avocado tree that has collected all over the leaves. If, and this is what I am hoping it is, the damage is from the storm in tandem with the shock of being newly potted, would it be a good idea to prune off the dead leaves and dry twigs that have appeared? a lot of the dead/dying leaves are in clusters underneath other branches of leaves (sort of internal to the structure of the tree's foliage). I checked all the way down into the container to make sure of drainage again, and the soil is barely moist, so I really don't think it's too much water. We do have very alkaline water here in southern California. I was told to use rose or azalea food to help replenish the acidity in the soil, but didn't plan on using that for several months since the tree was just repotted. I'd like to post images of the tree, just need to figure out how!

I am revising my other post ...my front yard sm is bright yellow and the back yard one is multi colored but still MORE yellow. they are brother and sister so to speak are about 25 ft tall were moved from a friends house a few years back at 12 ft... I have another younger unrelated 6 ft tall one thats also yellow in the front yard ... The distance between is about 150 feet so amnd the multi colored one actually is near where they dumped a bunch of concrete and coversd with dirt ( more alkiline) ... The multi colored tree is more vigorous and larger and may have a longer root system and can get the nutrients it needs for color ...so there may be hope ...or it just might be location and sun vs shade etc you didn't mention location!!! ...I'd bet in a couple years your's will be multi colored too...David

Stephen, I can only report what I do :-) Although our climates are pretty similar, I'm sure we get somewhat hotter in summer and that is also our dry period as well.....often extremely dry. 1) You have already come to realize that a durable and very barky potting mix is best. Ideally, the best time to repot or up-pot is in late winter when the tree is fully dormant. And this timing is rather critical if any root pruning is required. But if I am just potting up from a nursery container to one of my own in a larger size, I do it whenever ;-) 2) Your planting techniques sound fine. I don't pack the soil in too tightly but I do firm it in place. If not firm in the container, it can compact and the tree can sink. 3) I only water around once every 5 days or so unless the weather is very hot and dry. Then I move that up to every third day, sometimes every second day but only if we are having extreme weather. And most of my containers are quite large, so that reduces the need to water more often. I water until the water flows freely out the drainage holes. 4) I use the Osmocote (but any controlled release fertilizer will work) when I pot the trees up initially and again at the beginning of each season. I also provide some dilute liquid fertilizer every now and again as it has lots of the trace elements Osmocote and other ferts lack. I don't think it makes much difference what exact product you use other than to avoid any dry organics - they are just not very efficient with any kind of container soil. Liquids or water soluble ferts are the easiest to mix and use but will need to be applied a lot more often than the CRFs. Finally, your little tree with the spotted leaves is not exactly in bad health. It may just need a bit more TLC and to approach its care with more consistency with regards to watering. I can say I have been quite brutal with mine at times when my life gets too busy but they all spring back well from any temporary mistreatment. Growing JM's in containers to their optimum potential takes a dedication that I am not always able to provide but most seem thrive in spite of it :-) Right now I have one that should have been potted up a couple of seasons ago - it is in too small a container for its size and I am sure it is rootbound as it is putting out really no new growth but otherwise leafed out well. I just water it a bit more frequently to make up for all the roots filling the container and it is at the top of my list for root pruning and transplanting this winter!