Joanie

Did you root prune when you repotted? How were the roots, did they look good?

Don't cut them back, it's like doing surgery on a patient that has the flu. The dead branches won't hurt, unless you see that they are rotting or black is moving down the trunk. They may just be adjusting to the new conditions. Are there new buds anywhere?

If the leaves are withering and falling off, it might seem that the trees need water... but if the roots are bad, they aren't bringing water up into the plant, so the leaves are actually drying up because the roots may be too wet.

(did that make sense? I'm really tired)

If they went from a very rich, inorganic soil to a very well draining inorganic soil, they have some adjusting to do. If you can post a photo it might help us.

Joanie

__________________