Question

Canela tree- Jowita   Several weeks ago (about 5) I bought a Canela plant. Its about 5 feet. The tag said the plant is suitable in sunny as well as in shady  areas and a perfect place would be a shady dining room for example. I placed it in a room right by a north facing windows. This room has three big windows on this north wall ,its not dark but also not very bright and gets more light in late afternoon hours. When I bought it I've suspected that the plant is or might have been sick because it was bushy only on the top and it was visible that the stem has lost many leaves or maybe even branches. The tree was doing ok- that means has not been losing leaves the first three to four weeks but it has also not been letting out any new leaves-In other words I noticed that the tree is not growing. Now it has started to lose the leaves-they first get yellow than falling off. I water once in about 10 days always after sticking a finger making sure that the soil is dry- I have also noticed that when I've watered it the water has been running out of the pot immediately . Last time when I watered it -2 days ago- I noticed a tiny white fly skipping on the soil but no black flying flies.I sprayed soil with insect control for house plants but I thought that this will probably not help because those things are deep in the soil and this chemical will not go so deep. I decided to buy new soil and re pot the plant to a slightly bigger pot. I did it today but I was not able to clean the root completely out of old soil because the root was very dense. I don't know if after re potting the tree will get better, I will just have to wait and see but my question is where should I place the tree-was the previous location good? Right now I left it on the patio- facing east and  south. I live in Georgia, is still pretty hot during the day here and I don't know if so much direct sun is gut for that plant. I will attache pictures.I hope you will be able to give me some advice of what this plant actually likes and what are the chances that it will recover.
Thank you very much. Jowita

Answer
Jowita,

Your plant was not sickly when you bought it, it had been pruned to tree form so it looks like a small tree. White fly attacks plants when they are too dry. The water is running through because the soil has been allowed to dry out too much. It is good to let it get dry enough that the top 1 inch of soil is dry but if all the soil drys out it needs to be set in a tub with water half way up and allowed to sit there for 3 hours till the soil is well saturated then set it on the ground without it's drain tray so it can drain then set it back in it's normal location. Getting too dry can hinder growth as can too little sun. Most plants will grow better with lots of sun. So keep it in the sunniest location possible and try giving it some houseplant fertilizer.

Too kill any whitefly in the soil you can add a bottle of rubbing alcohol (70% isopropyl alcohol) to the water when you soak it and that will kill whitefly or their larva in the soil. Your plant actually looks very healthy, it just needs more water and sun. Good luck!

Darlene