Dracula velutina shedding leaves - Orchid Board

SteveM · #1 08-30-2023, 08:44 PM

Ok I got a Dracula velutina exactly a month ago. It was a nice size division, truly bushy. Anyways I came home earlier this week to find 3 leaves on the floor. I thought my cat was at it again and moved it to a higher place. Today as I was watering it a bunch of leaves fell off. I'd say in the last week I lost close to half the plant. I know these are difficult. I do not have them in a terrarium. I have been watering them around every third day. The media is a sphagnum moss- bark mix with some charcoal. They are in my house in about 77-81 degrees in the past week I have started misting them a few times a day because of the low humidity. Anyways I think that i may have over watered even though the soil seemed to be drying. Can the misting have done this. I do not use RO water or anything like that. My water is pretty low in alkalinity and chlorides. CaCo3 + Mg is around 30 PPM. Chlorides at 0. I have also fertilized them, but I do not fertilize often. maybe once a month. I also read that the shedding may be normal with Dracula's but I think it is a little excessive to be normal. Been thinking to go the terrarium route but space is kind of an issue (I have too many hobbies lol). I'm thinking it's mostly a watering issue, possibly too much plus with the misting this week. Any ideas. A picture is posted below of the shedded leaves.