The root ball and the soil around it were wet. It was the way the sun was shining down behind me when I took the photo that made it look dry. when I lifted it out of the pot, the dirt that fell away was in muddy clumps.
I'll give the root ball an good soaking tonight, but I don't think dryness is the problem. I think the roots were in a smaller pot when it was purchased and it was moved up to a bigger pot without having "teased" the roots apart. I'll take another pic when I pull it out again. It's in the perfect shape of a smaller pot.
Appreciate the help. I sure don't want to lose it. I'm going to wait a bit until it cools off here. It's 105 this afternoon. We just got home from watering at the lake house. Very afraid of fire up there.
