X-No-archive: yes

First, what proportions of soap and water did you use? The
normal preparation for a soap spray is one tablespoon per GALLON
of water, which isn't much. If it was much more than that, you
probably left a lot of soap in the soil and it may be having a
toxic reaction with the tree's roots. Serissa are SO DARNED
SENSITIVE! They need to get a life!

This might explain the whole thing. It seems the mixture was too
concentrated. Also the watering was done by placing it in a few
inches of water so the soil never got a chance to wash out. Lot of
the leaves fell into the plant too and some of the soap residue might
have gone into the soil because the leaf drop seems to have
accelerated recently. Plant is not robust enough to replant but we
did replace the soil on the outside. I am wondering if we can give
the soil a good wash by watering it from the top for a few minutes.
Will this be too much water?

I recall you saying you watered every 3-4 days. That sounds
pretty good, but do you check the soil before you water? It
should be barely damp to the touch, or even dry. Your
description of brown-turning-black leaves is typical of a root
problem, and the most common root problem is too much water and
rotted roots.

I water it after testing the soil by inserting the finger about 1/2"
deep. If it is damp then it is not watered.

What kind of soil is it in? And, oh yes, are there rocks glued
onto the top of the soil?

It was in soild that came orignially with the plant. I am not sure
about "rocks glued onto ..." What do you mean by that?

As the tree is probably leafless now, it will want less water
since it no longer is transpiring through the leaves.

Noted.

_I_ would lift the tree from its pot and take a close look at the
roots. They should be yellow-brown and firm, not black and
soggy-crumbly.

The roots seem fine.

Others have already told you that Serissa lose their leaves when
you even look cross-eyed at them, but this sounds more serious;
usually the leaves just turn yellow and drop off. Then they
immediately (almost) resprout.

Strange thing is that there is a little bit of growth but when leaves
get bigger they die out. Also some of the leaves are
disproportionately large but that is because they are close to the
light source.

Thanks.

j