It's difficult to determine how appropriate a soil is by how the packager labels the product. What's most important is whats IN the bag, not what's ON the bag. It's primarily the size of the particles the soil is made of and the ratio of those sizes in the mix as a whole that determines how well a soil will perform. You can take 3 ingredients that have the potential to make an excellent soil, and mix them in such a way that the soil ends up being a poor choice. The only soils I've seen that I would use myself are 3 of the Fafard heavyweight mixes. I choose not to because I can easily make a better soil for a fraction of the cost. One of the keys to making any commercial soil you buy into an excellent soil is being able to find pine or fir bark in a size that's appropriate as a primary fraction of the soil. If you can find that, life just got a whole lot easier, insofar as the probability of consistently bringing along healthy plants. I wouldn't panic and start thinking you're doomed if you can't find pine or fir bark - we can work with a water-retentive soil if it's not too bad, but a soil based on particles larger than peat, compost, coir, sand, topsoil .... is a worthy goal. Almost everyone that spends any time on this forum recognizes there are usually inherent limiting factors associated with a very high percentage (almost all) of commercially prepared soils because almost everyone is 'amending' them to increase aeration and reduce water retention. This is certainly a move in the right direction, but if I can take you back to the thought that how you combine the ingredients has a very notable impact on the end product. If you DO find pine bark in a suitable size, making the bark the primary fraction of the soil (75-85%) will yield a product much different than if you added 15-20% pine bark to the soil you bought. We can talk more about soils if you're interested - and I'll give you some additional reading that covers container soils in greater depth. If you read it and understand the concept, you've probably taken the largest step forward a container gardener can take at any one time. While you're mulling that over, you can read about several ways to trick excess water into leaving the pot, which of course means more air in the soil (a good thing) and the ability to water correctly. I'm sure you'll have questions or comments - at least I hope you do. ;-) As far as light goes, your plant will probably tolerate the light load of full sun indoors, but the leaves probably won't tolerate the heat build-up unless you have a fan moving the air, so use your judgment. Outdoors, dappled or open shade with morning or late day sun would be ideal, and your plant will love it outdoors. My #1 choice for a houseplant fertilizer is Foliage-Pro 9-3-6, and the reasons are many. I don't want to get you thinking about too many things at once, so when you're ready to take on fertilizers, we can talk about that. The FP isn't easy to find in stores, but Miracle-Gro 12-4-8 in the yellow jug is, and it's cheap. It doesn't work quite as well as the 9-3-6, but it has the same NPK ratio (3:1:2) so it's about the next best thing. It also has any micronutrients you would have any cause to be concerned about in container media. All it lacks that's of concern is calcium and magnesium, but that will be in your soil, so you're covered for now. Questions? Al

Hello! It is normal for the older leaves on Pachira to yellow, brown, and fall off. If the *tips* of the leaves are browning, this usually indicates over-watering. The type of soil you used will determine if the issue is over-watering. What type of soil, and how large of a container? Josh

You should leave several and let them fight it out. The first year is difficult to tell. Of the 7-15 that pop on a limb, leave, say, 3-5 well distributed that are growing with a decent crotch angle (if there are that many). The key is that you have lost your shape on this tree for many years. You have to be patient and hope it grows properly to fill in, no guarantees. An aside, the statement I have other sm maple we had to top due to bent way over & had to release weight. is concerning. Why would you top a tree? Why was it staked incorrectly to cause this problem? Many cities will not hire tree services that state 'topping' on their advertisements. Why would you not stake it or prune for structure? The sprouts are a pruning reaction and you'll have to prune to ensure there is proper structure. Good luck. Dan

Yes, that is what I figured...For you, you have go very light on fertilizing and even more important to use a very porous mix, one with mostly bark. Here s why...With temps that hot, the roots shut down. They in fact will not take up moisture and then to make things worst, the salts in your water quickens the death rate of your finer roots which do all the work. Once your roots over heat, they drown in a mix like that even in the hot sun. It is a bad effect. Stop fertilizing until you can find a way to cool the roots down. I would set your trees to get only morning or late afternoon sun or under a tree in dabbled light. once you do this the roots will cool. Once the roots cool, they will repair themselves and then grow again allowing the top growth to accelerate. Once they do this they will be hungry and then it will be safe to fertilize without burning them too. Can you place your pot directly into the ground until your temps cool off? In a nutshell, I'll bet if you find a way to keep the roots cooler by taking them out of direct HOT sun by day until your weather starts to cool down, your trees will give you amazing growth. It's all about the roots) P.s...It's not too late to re pot, ever, not this time of the year as long as you do it right and keep your trees out of direct hot sun until the roots work properly again. Many have no issues at all placing their tree right back into sunlight after a re pot like me, but I would suggest to be better safe than sorry just in case your re pot is one that your tree did not like)