Thank you both for the tips- I have indeed found pretty strong root growth in the pot- and that 2 month period would explain why the roots have grown so much and the leaves none. I'll stick with my routine and try and heat the soil during the winter to keep the growth going. The sunlight shouldn't be a problem since the window where the plant is will be floor to ceiling and oriented to the west. I'll have to go find a set of lights to warm the pot for sure to prevent winter leaf drop. The leaves that have dropped thus far have dropped without the petiole, so I would imagine the stress of the poor setup in the previous pot and repotting have caused the drop thus far. The rate of drop has trailed off now- I've probably lost only 3 or 4 leaves in the past week to week and a half (a lower rate than before for sure). I'm going to continue the deep watering and checking with my fingers for moisture- I'm hoping that'll bring more growth to the roots and eventually to the leaves.
This evening when I examined the tree I found a tiny shoot coming up from the soil. It's no more than an inch or so above the soil now. It's not connected to the tree itself. Is this what they call a "rootstock shoot"? I've heard that rootstock can send up shoots on their own. Is it true that I should cut it? If so where do I cut- just below the soil, or somewhere else? I hope this isn't a bad sign- the tree seems to be recovering a bit too since it was repotted in the CHC and soil mix.
It is not a bad sign-- just indicates that the roots have energy to use, so actually a good sign. You should remove it unless you want to get into grafting and add a new variety to your tree. Skeet
Ah good- I removed that shoot and another one that appeared today right around the surface of the soil (or just a bit below). Thanks for the help.