Apparently we have another troll. Don't listen to marandpar please.

Dave....gotta keep an open mind to new ideas. I got help from this forum from theficuswrangler even though I have as much experience as she does. You never stop learning.

I have an open mind. But bad advice is just that, bad advice. Vitamins for humans, and cutting the FLF back to the truck are not something the op should be doing.

these are not new ideas. Including a lot of the ones you're pushing around here. They are proven not to be sound advice.

I'm not sure why some come here just to push advice on others that contradicts everything one should be doing to keep a healthy plant. Anthony, you are also guilty of that with the garden soil, pine straw, etc advice.

It's just not helpful to push bad habbits onto others, especially those who are just getting into indoor growing and don't know any better.

There are proven ways to grow a plant successfully. Sure, one can seem to have luck when pushing the boundaries and straying from the path, but that doesn't mean the plant is thriving. It simply means the plant is just barely getting by.

Garden soil and pine straw work great for indoor and outdoor gardening. Loam up to 50% Leaves are faster for the first year but break down fast. Heck... I don't even buy fertilizer.

You know what also works well, a fast draining mix. I'm sure your plants would love and benefit from that. But hey, be stuck in your ways. Just stop pushing them on others.

Garden soil has no place in the house.

Good luck to you and your soggy plants.

I've bought that old moldy store bought soil before. Hahaha

I don't use store bought soil. I make my own 5:1:1 mix. Your plants would enjoy it.

At a glance, one can see the plant isn't in any sort of condition (yet) to be chopped back hard to the trunk. Maybe after a repot and a year of good vitality it might be appropriate, but it's definitely not an appropriate action at this point in the plant's life.

Human vitamins for plants are imprudent at best, mainly because plants manufacture any vitamins they need, and adding vitamins they don't need increases the TDS of the soil solution w/o benefit and may even create harmful toxicities. This myth belongs in the same category as regular applications of Epsom salts for no other reason than it tends to make the plant greener. No matter that the practice creates deficiencies of other nutrients (particularly the macronutrient Calcium) unless the outside chance there actually is an inadequate amount of Mg in the soil happens to be a reality. The same is true of adding an iron supplement chelate as soon as there is a sign of chlorosis. The iron greens up the plant, so it must be a good move - greener HAS to be better - right? Wrong. Excess iron masks symptoms AND causes antagonistic deficiencies of other nutrients - particularly manganese.

There is no substitute for a well-reasoned fertilizer supplementation, and adding STUFF to your soil in the hope it might do some good is far more likely to produce unwanted results in spite of how green the plant might look. We would think it ridiculous if someone suggested we mix up a nightly dose of Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 and drank it before bedtime, so why wouldn't feeding vitamins formulated for human use to plants be equally ridiculous?

Al

Al, I've been drinking MG 24-8-16 before bed for the past year. I've grown two full feet. Don't tell me that's nonsense.

Just my two cents, but I think it's kind of cute the way it bends. I suppose though, at some point would it need to be braced? (That's an Al question probably. ; ) )

Dave...I never said your soil was not good. I'm just happy with what I been using for 30 years. My Pop taught me what I know. My big challenge for the past 5 years is growing plants in water. The info on the internet is not very good, but I'm learning and making good progress.

Maybe your pop didn't know everything (no offense) and new and better methods have come along since he taught you. Ever think of that?

you're right, there's a lot of bad info on the Internet. However, this site has tons of great info.

also, I know you're personally happy with what you use, but are your plants?

im not trying to be rude. You've just been pushing what we all know just isn't ideal.

Have you read through this?

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/discussions/2805869/container-soils-water-movement-and-retention-xxi?n=57

I'd cut the branch laying over back to 2 leaves on the nearly vertical stub, move it outdoors, and wait for it to back-bud further down the trunk, then cut it back to where it back-budded - eliminating that 90* bend entirely.

Al

The end goal would be to have it look like a tree. One main branch with leaves on the top. I am ready to prune and have included a simplistic picture. Should I prune it at the pink or the blue or somewhere else?

If that's a pretty accurate representation, I think I'd truncate it slightly distal to that little shoot off the top to the right of the dead branches that sort of form a 'V' at 10 o'clock on the curve.

Al

Got it! Thank you!

How hot is too hot for a FLF? I could put it on my back patio where it would get morning sun and afternoon shade, but it heats up pretty quick to above 90 each day. I live in northern utah, zone 4.

90* should be fine if you can protect the pot from direct sun. The evaporative cooling that takes place as water in the soil evaporates should keep a shaded container at least 10* cooler than ambient.

Al

I'm following this b/c I'm afraid I'm killing my first FLF. :( At first I was so scared of overwatering, that I think I was underwatering. A few leaves were dropping and now most leaves have brown crust around edges. A few weeks ago I started watering more, but bottom of the plant is pretty wet. I set it on my back porch (shaded) and I haven't watered in almost two weeks now...drying to let the roots dry out. It seems to be in a well-draining pot; there are probably 6 holes on the sides.

I've never "flushed the plant/soil." Please tell me how to do this? Thanks! I'll post a pic, too. Kelli

btw - Any advice from tapla would be appreciated. And tiera001, I'm impressed by your plant's comeback!

Here are a few pics.

And any idea what this white stuff is? The soil still feels moist at bottom but not wet. Thank you!

The white stuff on the soil is a mold/fungus.

The leaves look like over-watering or a high level of mineral salts in the soil.

Where do you live? How long have you had the plant? Is the water you're watering with softened with an ionic exchange softening system (one that requires adding salt to)? Fertilizing? With what? How much/often?

Al

Al, I've had the plant 3-4 months. I live in south Mississippi. I was fertilizing with miracle grow (diluted mixture for indoor plants) 2x per month, but haven't done so in a few months since it apparently wasn't good for the plant. I use normal tap water. For the first month or so, I was watering about 2 cups once a week. When leaves started browning and falling I tried more water, about a small pitcher once a week. I only did that a few times. Any suggestions? Thank you for responding. Can it be saved?!

How about the question about whether or not you have a water softening system that requires "feeding" with salt? What MG product were you using and what were the NPK %s listed on the package?

It's probably not in immediate danger of dying, but it's on a coarse that has to be reversed if it's to continue as a viable plant. I'll wait until you reply to the questions, then offer suggestions.

Al

Al, no water softening system. Photo of MG product I used 2x per month. Thanks for your help. Please also let me know if u should treat the mold/fungus on the roots.

Yes, it can be saved, and the fertilizer, while not the best choice, isn't that far from it. IOW - it's a good choice.

I'd flush the soil thoroughly by slowly pouring a volume of room temp water = to at least 10x the volume of the pot it's in through the soil. It will remove most of any accumulating dissolved solids - essentially like pressing the fertilizer reset button. I'd immediately fertilize after that and review how bright and warm it is and will be, where the plant is sited.

This is very basic stuff. If you're willing to make an effort to gain an understanding of some information I can put in front of you, so you can understand why I'm suggesting certain things, I'll help you devise a realistic strategy that you can rely on (if you do your part) to get your plant whipped back into shape by this time next year.

Unfortunately, when it comes to trees with a fair amount of spoiled foliage resultant of an extended period of cultural limitations, there's just no way to realistically expect a more rapid turn around from trees grown indoors.

Sprinkle a generous amount of cinnamon on the soil's surface & see if it clears up the fungaluglies you're concerned about.

Al

Thanks so much Al. I will try your recommendations and let you know how it goes. I'd appreciate any advice you can offer. I'm usually pretty good with plants (at least outdoor plants) so I'm determined to bring this one back. :)

Determination, dedication, enthusiasm ...... all attributes that serve us well in any of our sojourns.

This should go a long way toward getting your plant to do an about-face.

This is an overview of good growing practices that, if adopted, will at a minimum get you to the point where you can be confident in your ability to keep almost anything you might attempt to grow healthy. I don't think anyone would argue with the contention that turning point does more to increase the potential for reward you get from growing than any other. It's even a prerequisite to monetary reward, if that happened to be someone's ultimate goal.

Soils very often determine whether or not a healthy root system is possible or what degree of health is possible. At any given time, only one factor is (most) limiting your plant's vitality. Gaining an understanding of air:water relationships in container soils and how to effectively vary and control them is probably the largest single step forward you can take as a container gardener. Everything starts with the roots, so being able to maintain a healthy root system is imperative, not optional, if your goal is a healthy plant.

I really hope you find practical applications for info I linked you to. All I've written has served me with great favor over many years in replication after replication.

Al

Great! Thanks for the info.

Hi Al,

I have been reading all of your comments and tips for this plant. I wanted to ask you similar questions. I just finished reading your post "Good Growing Practices - An Overview for Beginners". That was very helpful and thank you for writing it. I'm also open to anyone else with their comments and helpful tips who have been through similar issues and how they recovered their plant.

I bought a fiddle leaf fig tree plant almost a month ago in August. Attached is the picture of the plant at the nursery the day I bought it (image 1). Also, this is my first houseplant so I'm very new to this. May be it wasn't the best choice to have this plant as my first one. But anyways I'm fully invested in keeping my plant healthy. I have been trying to follow the instructions given to me by the lady at the nursery I bought at. To give a some background, this plant is in an apartment in Long Island, NY.

Sunlight: I have placed this plant next to the window and it doesn't get direct strong sunlight but it's very well lit room with good light all morning till evening. My plant is getting moderate-to-bright, indirect sunlight. My windows face south west.

Water: I was told to water the plant when the soil feels dry. I usually stick my finger in a little to see if it's dry. But after 10 days of buying the plant, it wasn't completely dry and I decided to give it some water. I pour the water in the plastic tray and let the plant take up as needed. That's how I have been watering it. Sometimes I pour a cup of water from the top too but very little. Usually once in 10 days.

Temperature: the temperature in the apartment never goes below 65 and above 75.

I haven't done anything to the pot. It's in the same pot as I bought it in.

Last week I was noticing that the leaves are shriveling a little and drying. Tips of some of the leaves started to brown, dry and split in between (image 2). My plant looked like this last week (image 3 & 4). Then I started watching YouTube videos about this plant and reading up more online. I heard that this plant can get mealy bugs under the leaves (they are white fuzzy like bugs). I noticed that my plant had some of these bugs. I read that one of the ways to get rid of them would be to use soap and water. I sprayed some soap and water (a drop of dish soap in a small water spray bottle). And then I wiped it off with a wet cloth. The soapy water went into the trunk as well. There were not that many bugs. Just a few but I think I got rid of most of them now.

But now in the past few days, the plant hasn't improved but gotten worst. The leaves are even more drier and shriveled. They are crisp and curled up (image 5, 6 & 7). I'm so confused as what to do. I really need help with how to water this plant. Am I overwatering or under watering? Should I put in the bathroom tub and keep flushing water through the pot? Till when? I really want to take care of this plant properly and keep it alive and healthy. Sorry for this extremely long message and thank you for reading it. I would really appreciate your help. Thanks!!!

The other images are here:
This is how my plant is looking now.

Long posts that ask questions with plenty of background are GOOD, so please - no apologies.

Air conditioning can work in concert with depressed root function to cause leaf loss and exacerbate spoiled foliage. Depressed root function is very often caused by over-watering and/or a high level of dissolved residual mineral salts in the soil solution from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, so those two conditions should always be actively guarded against in one way or another if your goal is a healthy plant ...... and whose goal isn't? ;-)

If you pour water or fertilizer solution into the collection saucer for the plant to absorb, or even water from the top and let the plant rest in the effluent that exits the drain hole, you ensure all the excess salts from tapwater and fertilizing that aren't taken up by the plant remain in the soil. This is limiting for 2 reasons. First, it raises the level of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the soil solution, which inhibits the plant's ability to take up water; and, it can very quickly cause the ratio of nutrients in the soil solution to become grossly imbalanced. This condition becomes limiting because an excess of one nutrient can cause deficiencies of other nutrients. For example, if you were using a fertilizer with a high P(hosphorous) content, it could easily limit uptake of and cause a deficiency of any of several nutrients, but especially Fe (iron). If your tapwater had a high Mg (magnesium) content, as the level of Mg increases, it could make uptake of Ca(lcium) difficult or impossible.

Because of these potentialities, it's important that you use a soil that allows you to flush the soil whenever you need to, preferably every time you water, or if you're using a water-retentive soil that might remain soggy so long it affects root health/function, you'll need to bite the bullet and flush the soil at regular intervals, then take steps to reduce the amount of water a soil can hold to mitigate the potential limitations long periods of soil saturation levy on plantings. There are several ways this can be done, but by far the best way is to work toward making sure you're growing in a soil that allows you to water to beyond saturation, that is to say so you're flushing the soil each time you water, w/o the need to be concerned that neither root function or health will be affected by soil saturation. Once you get to that point, your growing experience goes through something of a transformation. Everything gets easier - especially watering and fertilizing proficiently.

I don't know if you read the other 2 links I posted in my message last Fri at 2:47, but there is a LOT of very good info in them. I think if you read them, even if you don't get everything said the first time through, they should help you ask pointed questions, the answers to which will help you most.

If you're going to use a soap or detergent on plants, please try to use insecticidal soap, which is specially formulated to minimize phytotoxicity. Most soaps used for dishes or around the house dissolve cuticular waxes in the 'skin' of leaves and lipid root membranes if they make their way into the soil.

This thread, about dealing with water-retentive media will help you deal with excess water retention after you flush your plant's soil.

If in your place, I think I'd make a plan that helps me deal with the flushing at intervals and reduces excess water retention, and work it until next June, by which time I'd have decided on an appropriate medium and a repotting date sometime around Father's Day.

What do you think about what I said?

Al

Thank you so much Al for replying back to me. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain it all in great detail with such great information.

So as far as my understanding is:
my plan until June is to flush the soil at regular intervals, then take steps to reduce the amount of water a soil can hold. So each time that I water my plant, I need to flush the soil to avoid soil saturation. So I read in your earlier post, that: " flush the soil thoroughly by slowly pouring a volume of room temp water = to at least 10x the volume of the pot it's in through the soil. It will remove most of any accumulating dissolved solids - essentially like pressing the fertilizer reset button. I'd immediately fertilize after that and review how bright and warm it is and will be, where the plant is sited." So should I do this well? What kind of fertilizer should I buy? Or do I not need one for now? Since this is my first indoor plant, I'm quite clueless as what to get. Also after I water, I should keep tilting my containers to trick the large fraction of the unwanted perched water to exit the container...correct?

On a side note, the leaves of my plant are quite small compared to most fiddle leaf plants. Is there a particular reason? Or just the fact that it's a baby plant right now.

So I have been researching and there is not much information out there about it. but there is a "little fiddle" leaf plant that has more compact leaves? I bought this plant thinking the leaves will grow into bigger leaves. One of the reasons in buying ficus lyrata was because of its beautiful big tropical looking leaves. Looks like I didn't get the right one :(
Regardless, I'm hoping I can bring my plant back to being healthy :)

So as far as my understanding is:
my plan until June is to flush the
soil at regular intervals, then take steps to reduce the amount of water
a soil can hold. Whenever you water to beyond saturation, so the soil has been saturated and water is exiting the drain hole, you should take steps at that point in time to reduce the amount of excess water the soil holds, because it's the excess water that collects between soil particles near the bottom ofthe pot that robs roots of the oxygen needed to fuel normal root function. So each time that I water my plant, I need to flush
the soil to avoid soil saturation. Flushing the soil doesn't ensure soil saturation won't be an issue. Flushing the soil is done to avoid A) an accumulation of salts in the soil at such high concentrations that uptake of water (and nutrients dissolved in water) is impaired. Ideally, fertilizer salt levels should be at the lowest possible w/o incurring nutrient deficiencies. So I read in your earlier post, that:
" flush the soil thoroughly by slowly pouring a volume of room temp
water = to at least 10x the volume of the pot it's in through the soil.
It will remove most of any accumulating dissolved solids - essentially
like pressing the fertilizer reset button. I'd immediately fertilize
after that and review how bright and warm it is and will be, where the
plant is sited." So should I do this well? I'm not sure what this question means. If it means, "Should I flush the soil thoroughly?" the answer is yes. What kind of fertilizer
should I buy? You'll find it very hard to beat Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 by Dyna-Grow for use as your 'go to' fertilizer. I actually use it for everything I currently grow, and that covers more than (or very close to) 200 different species of plants. Or do I not need one for now? Yes. Since this is my first
indoor plant, I'm quite clueless as what to get. Also after I water, I
should keep tilting my containers to trick the large fraction of the
unwanted perched water to exit the container...correct? Yes - it wouldn't hurt to employ a wick, either. Your fig is small enough that you can situate a wick in a hole through the bottom of the pot at the edge, water the plant in/over the sink, after watering, tip the plant and allow the wick to dangle inside the drain. This simple habit will make a VERY significant improvement in your plant's ability to get all the air its roots need.

On a
side note, the leaves of my plant are quite small compared to most
fiddle leaf plants. Is there a particular reason? Or just the fact that
it's a baby plant right now. Your plant is one of the dwarf cultivars of F lyrata. Even though it is a genetic trait of the Moraceae family that each leave that occurs on any given branch will be larger than the previous leave(s) produced on that branch, your plant is a clone of a plant that had a genetic mutation, made manifest most conspicuously in smaller leaves and shorter internodes.. That is actually a VERY good thing, so don't despair. If you're not familiar with the word 'serendipity', look it up. Your plant can still appear full & bushy in light under which the species plant might be very lanky.

Al

Thank you so much Al. I really appreciate all the advice. I did flush my plant and tilted it to ensure all the water exits out. Next time I water the plant I'll use the wick. I haven't used the fertilizer yet. For the past few days it has been raining so my plant isn't getting much sunlight. But overall the plant isn't doing better. I saw a few more leaves fall and more of them turning brown. I'm thinking it'll take time for it to get back.
Do you suggest that I go buy the fertilizer and add it to the plant? (The one you suggested: Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 by Dyna-Grow). Thanks again!!!

Yes - the leaves might be falling because the plant is robbing mobile nutrients from older leaves to help fuel new growth. Once older leaves are cannibalized for their nutrients, the plant is stimulated by its internal chemical messengers to shed them during the course of the plants week to week activities. It may not BE a nutritional issue, but let's get that off the table. If it's not, it's likely a light issue or poor root health that's causal.

Al

Hi Al,
I wanted to update you on my plant. Every week tons of leaves have been falling. The plant is dying and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I tried to follow all your instructions but I'm not sure what I'm missing. Is there anything I could do to save it now? I do see some bugs on it.

You flushed the soil, fertilized, and have been monitoring its moisture needs carefully?

Have you been able to ID the infestation?

Al

I think they are mealy bugs and scales. I would usually try to get rid of them using a moist wash cloth. Today I used the this spray (attached pic) on my plant.

I think after I flushed the plant thoroughly, the plant started to deteriorate really fast. Every time I would water the plant, all the water would just drain out right away. May be I didn't fertilize the plant right. What's the right way to fertilize the plant? (Pic attached of the fertilizer)

Another important question, is there still a way this plant could be saved?

Well, while Al's away I'll just say that you've got a real Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde situation going on. It looks strange to see one side of your ficus have completely healthy leaves while a good portion of the other side is dying. It's almost like some of the branches are physically damaged or have a heavy bug infestation that hadn't spread to the rest of the tree. There's got to be a reason!

Carefully examine all the branches for physical damage or bugs. It's hard to tell from photos, but are all the dying leaves on the same branch or branches, while all the healthy ones are on other branches? Do any of the branches have both healthy and damaged leaves on them?

Also, have you confirmed what kind of bugs you have? You could just Google mealie bugs and scale to find pictures, or brace yourself against the wall or a chair to get a not-too fuzzy photo. Are the bugs all over the tree, or are they concentrated on the damaged part of it?

I'm also concerned about water running right through a pot of water-retentive soil without soaking in. Does any water soak in? There are at least two reasons water might run through the pot without seeing the soil: your soil could be so peaty that it becomes hydrophobic when it's dry and won't accept water unless it's forced to, and/or the water is flowing through the gap that I think I see between the side of the pot and the soil. Which one sounds right to you?

Before doing anything about any of this, check the soil moisture by pushing a disposable chopstick, wooden skewer, or sharpened dowel all the way through the soil to the bottom of the pot and waiting maybe 10 seconds. Then use the dry end to check another part of the pot. Is it moist or stained with soil when it comes out? Is one part of the pot dry while another is wet?

If parts of the pot are dry while some is moist, immerse it in water up to the rim and keep it there long enough that no more air bubbles up, which might take quite a while. At that point the pot the pot should feel very heavy. Then drain the pot using the techniques you've been using.

If the whole pot is at least a little moist, forget what I just said, check the soil daily, and wait to water until the first time the skewer/chopstick/dowel comes out completely clean and dry (don't worry, at that point there's enough moisture inside the soil particles that's accessible to the roots). This is important, because ficuses love drying out between watering.

Sorry this is so long. I seem to be constitutionally incapable of writing a short post.

LB (Lenore) asked the right questions and gave sound advice, so there's not much I can add, other than if your plant is suffering considerably more or dead on one side compared to the other, you'll likely find dead roots that are no longer feeding the dead side of the tree.

I don't like the granular vehicles for delivering imidacloprid because they clog the pores of my soils, but if you're intent on saving the plant, you'll likely need a systemic. You can buy imidacloprid in a 1.47% solution and use it as a soil drench at 1.5 tsp per quart of water. Beyond that, all you can do is review your plants base preferences and do your best to provide what the plant wants. Monitoring moisture levels would be particularly important.

You could cut the plant back hard, do an emergency repot into a very fast soil, and pot the plant in a colander, pond basket, or other type of pot designed to maximize aeration in the rhizosphere (root zone). This would be something of a long shot, but it's probably the course I would follow at this point.

Al

My FLF needs Help!!!

Just purchased this tree 8 days ago. Used half organic soil and half moisture control. There is about 2.5" of rocks at the bottom of a self watering pot. I watered it about 10oz the first day and another 10 the next only because it felt dry. It's in front of a SE facing window with great lighting and my home is about 70 degrees daily. Can you please tell me what I should do to save this poor thing??

To add, leaves have been dropping like crazy!! This is a before pic

So you change the soil immediately after purchase? How you giving water? From the top or bottom?

The soil you used in your repot has inherent water retention issues due to the fact that all the soil particles are very small. This means it will retain a significant perched water table (PWT) at container capacity. Container capacity is a measure of how much water the soil retains at the point where it stops draining after it has been fully saturated.

The rocks can be arranged so they work for you, or they work against you. If they are arranged so there is a continuous soil column that reached all the way to the bottom of the pot, they are a plus. If there is NOT a continuous soil column all the way to the bottom of the pot, and they truly are a "drainage layer" instead of ballast, the rocks aren't your friend and only serve to raise the position of the PWT in the pot. See middle image below.

Too, if you ARE going to stick with the soil you used, you should think about a do-over of the repot such that you DO take advantage of ballast in the bottom of the pot. See image on right, above. Note how ballast reduces the volume of soil that holds perched water.

Did you do a full repot (includes bare-rooting and root pruning) or just pot up? How much larger was the pot you bumped up to?

The short answer to "How do I save my plant?" is: By not asking it to tolerate conditions at or beyond what it's genetically programmed to deal with.

Some of the terms I used might be foreign to you, so it's up to you to ask about what you might not understand. Your focus should be on root health/function, and the easiest way to achieve that is by using a soil that allows you to water to beyond the point of saturation (so soil is saturated and water is draining from the drain hole) w/o your soil remaining saturated so long the lack of O2 accompanying the saturation affects root health and function. An appropriate soil also makes nutritional supplementation a very easy chore, if you're using an appropriate fertilizer, but at this point, that discussion should come after your immediate path is determined because watering habits and soil choice actually determines how to best fertilize.

Al

Just in 8 days, so many leaves falls, dieback. What i can guess just drought or over fertilizer. 2.5" rock is too high, and if watered from bottom, there's a possibility of draught since almost no capillary movement up on rock that make the up soil stay dry. The advantage of using rock on bottom side is giving room for water and air to move down freely but keep upper soil still, since solid material mostly flow only down vertically, not like water or gas that also move horizontally. If not drought, then maybe over fertilizer. Both have made plant absorb no water. No water mean no nutrients, just like cuttings/plant without root. On that case, even big leaves plant will drop their leaves. So please do fast act. Investigate the root condition before it completely damage. That tree was so beautiful.

I repotted today. and the soil around the root ball was very damp still. I shook off most of the soil and inspected the roots which looked to be in good shape. I purchased a new 12" pot with drainage holes (12" is what it was in prior). I used a new mix of cactus fast draining soil and perlite and peat moss. I placed figgy into the pot and covered it with the rest of the mixture. haven't watered it as I'm too afraid to. should I give it a good drink? should I give it some plant vitamins?

Hold off on fertilizing until you're absolutely sure the tree is pushing new growth; and, it would be a good idea to have a chat about fertilizing before you put a plan in place. I'm not sure how much perlite you used in the new mix, but it should have been at least 1/2 to 2/3 of the mix, since it sounds like you're using a soil based entirely on fine ingredients.

I don't know what you did during the repot, or how well-settled the soil is around the roots, but it's pretty common practice to water thoroughly after you reestablish a potted plant using fresh soil. How well you manage moisture levels in the soil will be a key element in determining how fruitful your efforts will be as they relate to your tree.

Al

If you think your soil fast draining already, give it water thoroughly after repot. It will make root tightly contact with new soil and remove any toxic and/or over fertilizer in prev soil that stick on the root surface.

Root system not absorb vitamins. If you believe vitamins will do any good to your plant, spray it on stem and leaves. Make sure good air circulation drain it in few hours.