carambola tree died- from lack of or too much water?

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uglymotherpluck st Thomas, Virgin Islands (USA) Jan 21, 2015

We bought a carambola tree-Star fruit, from home depot and it said it was easy to care for. We planted it in a hole that was filled deep w/ potting soil because the ground is very rocky. Watered it on occasion, when the leaves wilted. The deer ate some of the leaves. It rained a lot and the leaves turned brown, I thought it was getting water logged so I dug it up and put gravel in the hole and replanted it, but it died. It seems like any plants we purchase from stores or nurseries die, we have planted plants that we have grown from seeds or trimmings and they do fine. We want to grow fruit trees but growing from seeds takes too long. Any suggestions? I guess I can't put a photo here.

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tapla Bay City, MI(Zone 6a) Jan 21, 2015

"We planted it in a hole that was filled deep w/ potting soil (then gravel)" is likely where the trouble lies. The surrounding soil, being more dense, holds onto water and allows it to seep into and completely fill the tub you created by back-filling with potting soil/gravel instead of native soil. This occurrence is often referred to by plantsmen as 'the bathtub effect'.

Al

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