Canela Tree Dying - Why???

I bought this tree 2 wks ago and it is already dying. I did not re-pot it and it is in a brightly lit room about 5 feet from the window. The soil is very compact that I cannot stick my finger in it to test the soil for moistness or dryness. I watered it with bottled water 3 days after I bought it because the top soil was very dry, now it is dying, the leaves are turning brown (but not curling). What do I do, what is wrong? I LOVE this tree and want to revive it!!

If the soil is very compact so you can't even get your finger in, then it might be very, very rootbound. When something is very rootbound, it's nearly impossible to get it enough water. I'd pop it out of the pot and take a look at the roots--if the whole pot is basically a big mass of roots, then find a bigger pot and tease the roots apart as best you can and put it in the larger pot with some fresh potting mix.

I think it needs a lot more light than it's receiving, too.

I know this is an old post but after killing two canela trees I found the cause. I had the same problem; leaves would turn brown and fall off until the plant died. I tried many things nothing worked. I searched all over the internet and there is very little info and no solution so I thought I would share. The trick to prevent leaves from falling off is that it must always be watered with warm water. So simple but makes a huge difference. Hope this helps someone.

Eyedris, Thanks for the diagnosis and cure. I am desperate to save my Canela tree. I am optimistic about your advice because I poured some warm water on it and within 12 minutes the leaves are perking up. I was not getting this before. I guess the trick is to use warm water and keep the soil moist. Makes sense because this plant comes from an area of the world where the climate , soil and water are indeed warm...Were you finding that the leaves would turn a deep yellow first? And is the amount of light it gets as important as your water remedy?
Best Regards
Ken

A couple of years ago I came across this thread about a canela tree that wasn't doing well. Mine wasn't losing leaves but was generally languishing. Over three years It only put out a couple new leaves every six months or so and eventually contracted scale. I took care of that and repotted the tree and while the leaves got no worse, they were no better at all. It just looked dull and unattractive.

I was on the verge of getting rid of it about five weeks ago but instead gave it a steady diet of weak fertilizer and broke off quite a few of the bad leaves hoping to encourage the secondary buds to bloom.

In the past couple of weeks it has put out nineteen areas of new growth on the ends and where the leaves were broken off. Each new shoot has between two and six leaves. The growth is akin to what you see on trees outdoors in the spring. I am so happy about this and I can't wait to see what it looks like in a couple more weeks.

One problem I'm still having with it is that even new leaves will in a short period of time look slightly mottled and I don't understand why. I know it's not bugs because I watch that like a hawk. But in general the leaves never stay the lush green you see in a healthy plant. I'm expecting that to happen with all of this beautiful new growth as well.

The plant gets plenty of light. It has been on a screened in porch for a couple of months and the room it's in otherwise does not lack sunshine. It is well cared for.

Does anyone know anything about this? It's hard to find information about this plant in general.
I don't know if it needs a bigger pot, different soil or what. It says it can take full sun but I think at one point direct sun burned some of my new leaves.

Any info at all would be appreciated!

I uploaded four pictures but only one came up in my reply. Trying again...

Hmmm, I can't seem to get any other photos to show, unfortunately. I had some good ones of the new growth along with the mottled leaves.

If the plant is exhibiting symptomatic leaf loss, watering with warm water won't reverse the trend. Things that most often cause partial or total defoliation, in no particular order, are: a decrease in the amount of light the plant gets, a significant increase in the amount of light it gets, soil compaction, root congestion, over-watering, under-watering, a high level of salts in the soil, nutritional deficiencies or toxicities.

I've asked dozens of degreed plant people if there was any physiological reason that plants shouldn't be watered with cold water, or if there was any reason they could think of that cold water was physiologically detrimental. So far, not one has come up with anything; and FWIW, during the hottest days of summer, I water all my tropicals (purposely) during the hottest period of the day with cold water from the hose to reduce root/soil temps./ So far, none have exhibited anything resembling chagrin.

If a grower isn't able to isolate a cause for a plant's bad behavior, it's time to get back to the basics. For beginners, the check list priorities are A) an appropriate soil - one that can be watered to beyond saturation - to a point where the water applied is flushing accumulating salts from the soil, this, w/o having to worry that the soil will remain saturated so long that inhibition of root function becomes a significant player ..... or worse - root rot. B) Proper watering habits. C)The right light. D) The right temperature range. E) A well-reasoned nutritional supplementation program, which is extremely easy. Get this short list of things right & growing healthy, good-looking material gets much easier than when you were shooting yourself in the foot. ;-)

Al