a lot of my house plants do the same in MI in winter...

due to low or lack of.. light ...

and this year.. with the furnace running non-stop ... i am having a hard time keeping enough humidity in the house with the forced air furnace ...

and having a very hard time.. keeping media properly moist because of such ...

with that info .. in regard to my plants ..... i would never fertilize a stressed plant ...

its a water/humidity issue.. not a 'i am hungry issue' ...

and i am sure.. your watering is complicated by a huge tree.. in a relatively small pot ...

and finally ... all evergreen plant lose leaves in the down season ... and as long as its the interior.. or older leaves... its just an annual thing.. some years worse than others ... i would start worrying.. when the growth point started coloring as you note ....

ken

ps: if that were my plant... i would be researching how to propagate it.. if that is possible.. and if it could be rooted ... i would be rooting a few pieces... and when i succeeded with that.. i would get rid of this old monster ... because i would have a new, healthy piece of the same plant for the future ... and i would keep counting the years i have had it ... as it would be the same plant ...

thank you Ken for the reply and thoughts.

I re potted it again today in a much bigger container my hubby bought for it yesterday. I broke up the roots as they were really just a dense tangled mess with no soil around them and didn't do that when I tried to shove it into that black pot in an attempted emergency last week!

I normally do not fertilize my plants in the winter. But I did give it some today and gave it a big soaking and a hair cut and moved it to a sunnier and warmer place in the kitchen.

I was thinking, not only was it root bound big time, it may have been getting a draft when the sliding door gets opened as it is below freezing out there!

I should learn how to propagate it. Although we are thinking of moving south to Florida and wondered if it would make the trip and live ok there.

My brother gave it to me when it was a baby in a half gallon milk carton in 2014 when he moved so it is very dear to me.

new planter photos

I ran out of potting mix so will have to get some more soon.

still having problems. the leaves are falling off still. the roots looked great when i transplanted it.
i am wondering if it is spider mites.i think i had them on my roses last year. i do not see any bug , some leaves have small round holes . i will post another photo, (s) and perhaps someone can help me.

spider mites are systemic..am i correct?
if it systemic? spray with neem?

is there something i can put in the soil?
thanks!

thanx

thanks

stem

The problem does not look like spider mites at all. I'd guess a fungal disorder, but don't know for sure. The image of the trunk is too blurry for us to see if there's anything there.

Hey I want to follow up on my tree.
It has been outside since June and it is so much happier.

I do not like to use pesticides and that Rose rx worked well for my roses so I try to just use it when necessary.

the Rose RX worked! I sprayed it and gave the tree a small trim .. rose rx has neem oil.

Then I did it again about 10 days later but pruned it a lot more..This I did i think 3 times and around July 4th really started looking good.

Looking much better. Even the companion plant flourished! oxalis? It was dying too.

I think my plant problem here is multifaceted.
fungus and spider mites and the rust..IDK

1. spider mites, some of my plants get holes in the center of the leaf, not eaten from the outside and no visible bugs except daddy long legs.hummm.

2. systemic issue? some of plants and most of my perennials have bumpy deformed leaves..and the holes..

My lemon tree was doing poorly as well. bumpy funny shaped leaves and small holes in the middle part of the leaf.

3. my small lilacs i transplanted for a mother 3 years ago have powdery mildew. i tried soapy water/murphy's oil soap..but gave up..

But I saved the Avacado! I have to tell my brother as he gave it to me in a milk carton in 2006?

I am trying to save my lemon tree with the neem oil (started from seeds) but that is another story I will post pix soon on that one!)

some of my other house plants need attention before I have to bring them in this fall. I would prefer not to use pesticides because of the bees and birds..

do you think the neem is safe?

The cold nights come quick here in Vermont.

these were 2 weeks ago

It looks good now, your Shamrock is doing great also.
Christine