gardenfan, You're quite welcome and I hope someone else will comment on your tree as well. Sounds like your tree should eventually recover then--I certainly hope so. Be careful with checking the roots--you do want to allow them the become established and to grow lots of fine feeder roots. A layer of mulch around the dripline (but not too close to the basal flare) might help with water retention and to help keep the soil temps cooler. Keep us informed :) tanyag, In my typical talkative fashion I have a bit more to say so please forgive my longwindedness :)...In a nutshell you can remove the blooms and that may help--if your tree is quite stressed it prolly won't set fruit anyway or if it does manage to set a few, they won't be completely normal. But what really needs to be done is to correct the underlying problem and I think that can be different in a container as compared to gardenfan_1's situation above. I will also assume that it is pathologic stress on your tree...and I am certainly no expert, these are merely my opinions... There could be a few reasons why your tree is stressed as well: 1. You've had it only since last year but you repotted sometime since then, therefore it could be sulking from that and so see above. 2. the situation with the watering is also a little unclear--you weren't applying, but hard to know how much is getting to the actual roots. I have a potted Key lime that has kind of a wide mushroom-shaped canopy now and when it rains--even kinda hard rain--it doesnt really get that much water to the soil and so my neighbors must think I am nutts (skippy!) when I water just after or during a rain. Maybe your tree got too dry. 3. Even though you use Turface-substitute in a mix, the fact that you are mixing it with a good deal of potting soil may negate a lot of your efforts in using the fired-clay particle. The small particles will clog the larger pores and you may retain more water than you think. I've even been concerned about that using *straight* Turface right out of the bag but not screening it. Somewhat *uniform* particle size, as opposed to only the addition of chunky or inorganic material, is important in minimizing too much water retention. That's why fine sand as an additive to potting soils really doesnt do a whole lot to actually improve overall drainage. 4. Even tho covered, did it get freeze damage? I know Texas gets some real cold but you are z9b... As much as we are all wary of overwatering and water-logged soils and whatnot, citrus really doesnt like to be bone-dry either--ask my plants, they know that well, lol. I should grow only cacti and rocks but that's another story... You may wish to insert a probe as well to check for water or even slip the whole thing out of the container if you dont think that would make things worse(hard to do if the soil is new and still kinda crumbly). The other thing I like to do in smaller containers is just heft it--you can get a feel for how much water is in the soil by the weight. It is a surprisingly easy thing to do to get a rough idea. HTH. *SPDestroyer rocks*

Keep in mind that elderberry plants are poisonous - only the flowers and berries are edible. You can make a great breakfast/dessert by cutting the flower heads and suspend them upside down into a bowl of thinned pancake batter (or muffin batter, or any sort of batter). Let them get coated on all sides of the tiny flowers and then dunk them into a pan of hot oil. The batter will fry and puff up making a muffin sorta blobby thing with the flowers and small stems encased in dough. Snip the main flower stem before serving. Most often referred to as 'Elderberry Blow Fritters' (the large flat cluster of small flowers is sometimes called a 'blow').

Is the water sprout growth detrimental to the plant? Some websites seem to suggest it is only detrimental if it blocks light or crowds other growth. Do you really think it will be for the best to cut off the whole shoot? Sorry for all the questions, I am just very cautious of pruning it as it is a very wee little tree, it feels weird to cut it back. Of course I've never had the problem of a plant being "too happy" before. :) Usually its rather the opposite (in the past I had a bit of a black thumb).

@gyr_falcon - You win the prize. I think you got it right. It's either Euphorbia leucocephala or something nearly identical. Common name Pascuita, Snows of Kilimanjaro, Christmas Flower Bush, etc. The leaves look similar to this. For such a beautiful specimen I have only ever seen 1-2 before here in 9B. The description says zone 10, but the couple of ones I have seen in 9B look very healthy & happy. It blooms from Nov - Jan which would be the right time. Bright white flowers, small tree or large bush. Quite stunning & showy in full bloom in winter. I have wanting to know what it was for a couple of years now so thank you very very much.