Sick sapote (forum)

Rach (SE Melbourne) starts with ...
Hi all,
I bought a Kampong sapote a few months ago from Daleys. I would have put it in the ground (in melbourne) a few days later. The orange tree pictured I bought from daleys at the same time. They are right next to each other in the garden.

The orange is thriving. It has shot off new growth and is flowering happily. The sapote has not had any new growth and it looks really sick.

When i planted it I noticed that it's roots looked weird: sort of bumpy and soft. I assumed it was normal for the plant, or that it had been over watered a bit and that it would soon recover. At that stage the foliage looked fine.

Obviously it has gotten much worse. Any ideas what I can do for the plant?
Cheers,
Rach
Pictures - Click to enlarge

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Time: 20th October 2013 11:23am

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About the Author RachSEMelbourne1
Frankston
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Jason says...
I looks like the buds are swelling, I'd give in a few weeks. Sapotes always look dodgy this time of year when they are throwing off old leaves. They actually go fully dormant and leafless in Mexico during part of the year.

Time: 20th October 2013 11:35am

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About the Author Jason
Portland
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Rach (SE Melbourne) says...
Really? Great. Thanks Jason. I've been expecting it to die any day now :) guess I didn't consider dormancy since everything else in the yard has sprouted. Will let you know if it doesn't look better in a few weeks.

Should I fertilise it soon?

Time: 20th October 2013 11:38am

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About the Author RachSEMelbourne1
Frankston
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Jason says...
Really it looks fine in the trunk and buds. All my mature sapotes are almost leafless at the moment. The leaves they do have are yellow and old. Sometimes mine don't push new growth until after December, sometimes as early as October but anywhere in that range is ok. Then they will grow rapidly until about May.

Time: 20th October 2013 12:46pm

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About the Author Jason
Portland
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