Without any description of how you take care of it, where it is kept, watered when and how, etc. etc. it's a little hard to help, but unfortunately it's sounds very much like it's probably been gone for a while. What does the pot color have to do with anything?

aj See link: You have a lot of growing to do. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/grow-japanese-pagoda-tree-29263.html aloha

It is much too small to be considered a bonsai. You do need to keep it outdoors, and be sure not to over water. Keep it more in a shady area, these love the shade and can burn in the sun. Let the tree grow freely to allow maximum growth so it may one day be used for bonsai. Good luck. Ryan

Hi - I like its potential, but have a couple of things to throw out - I don't know who told you to water little bits often, but it's a mistake because the roots never get any water, or at least not enough, but the top parts stay soggy, which is not good for newer higher-up roots... so do water less often, but well (til it comes out the bottom a bit). Secondly, it's hard to say what it is because you have many plants/trees there that we don't have up here, so it could be a honeysuckle, but also who knows what, and you could bring it to a local nursery for help with an ID as without one, it'll be hard to do the right thing by it! As with any tree or plant that normally grows naturally outdoors in your climate (vs another very different one), you must leave it outdoors to experience all its requisite seasons properly - are you in e.g. N. Queensland where it's almost always very hot, or in the south, where it can get cold and wet? Now what you have to do is choose individual branches to keep and to prune away - but as it's a deciduous (leafy) tree rather than an evergreen (pine, etc), prune in spring and not autumn, which of course is right now where you are (spring, I mean :-). Don't just hack away at things, but do it for reasons of style (to at least some extent in accordance with bonsai tradition (rules) until such time as you know so much about them that breaking the rules becomes a conscious thought out design decision that makes sense on its own... and that probably won't be for years I guess... which is why rules help, to understand why you cut this branch and not the other... blah blah! I'll leave it to you to research why (not just for artistic angles, but to encourage (or otherwise) new buds to grow where you want them. You need to have some idea in mind of what you want the future tree to look like (years from now) before just cutting branches off that you might want after all. But it's also important to consider those which grow directly opposite each other on the trunk (not necessarily desirable), or cross each other in X directions, etc... start reading up on all that and then cut only when you're very sure about it. Get back at some time (whenever) with new pix and Q's if you have any. But find out what it is before anything else, if only so you get a better handle on how often to water (or not, if it's living outdoors and nature is doing the job).