snip
First -- Fertilizer is NOT medicine for trees. If I recall, you had some
yellowing branches, and ants (among other problems??).
You were advised to look for borers (?), and to remove the brown foliage.
I'd suggest looking hard for spider mites, too -- and aphids, or scale,
both of which encourage ants.

Agreed. Detailed inspection and treatment for ants is first order of
business.



If the ants are in the soil of your pot, submerge the pot in water
overnight. A lot of the ants will climb into the foliage, of course, but
a pyrethrin spray (or Ortho Home and Garden) will take care of those.
Tilt the pot when you bring it out of the water to encourage drainage.
Overnight in water won't hurt the tree. If the soil the tree is planted
in looks crusty and ancient, you could carefully wash off the upper layers
and add new soil. Don't remove enough to constitute a "repotting." Water
the new soil in well.

I like this approach as I'm unsure what shape the roots are in. Will look
for a container big enough to soak it today.

Now is the time to give it a standard-brand 20-20-20 (or thereabouts; the
exact numbers aren't important) fertilizer. Follow label directions. Set
the tree in part shade (morning sun).

I see, you think it's ok to start normal fertilizer now.

Keep an eye on it for the rest of the summer, then protect it from hard
freezes over the winter. By spring you should be able to repot.

Understood. Winter storage is yet another project... just moved to a new
place last week

Good luck.

Thanks,

John

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - When we see land as a
community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and
respect - Aldo Leopold - A Sand County Almanac

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