# peperomia dropping leaves



## ab1502

Hello,

I have one of the succulent varieties of peperomia.. and it has been growing rapidly for some time now. Recently however it has begun dropping a lot of leaves.. they are not dead leaves, they just fall off.. and maybe turn slightly yellow, but not too much. The plant is shooting out new shoots all over the place and seems to have healthy new growth.

The only change recently was my sealing off the top of the viv more thus creating humidity in the 95-100% range.

Any idea what could cause this? the Pep is growing in a pot on the background, and is misted daily by an automated misting system... not sure how much reaches the pot though.


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## Otis

If the plant has been growing consistantly for a while and has just stopped recently, it could be a nutrient defeciency. Since its elevated in the tank, frequent misting could be gradually washing away the rooting medium, making it difficult for the plant to obtain nutrients. You could try adding some more peat or whatever substrate you use now to the base of the plant. 

Do you have a pic? some peps need more ventilation than others so the increase in humidity could also be causing the discoloration.


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## ab1502

the substrate it was planted in is still all there.. and the frogs frequently defecate in the area, so it is being fertilized by that. The plant has not stopped growing, it just seems that some of the older leaves are all dropping suddenly. I am thinking that maybe the growth stopped the misting water from reaching the substrate, and instead it has been soaking the leaves instead of the soil, so I manually watered the plant today hoping it may just be a lack of water.


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## Frogtofall

Sounds to me like the change you made sealing it off may have caused the plant to drop leaves. Probably acclimating. These plants for sure don't require all that misting unless they are drying out really well.


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## carbonetc

If it's like a succulent then it may need less water, not more.

I have a bunch of prostrata in my tank (the leaves are somewhat succulent) and I just had a big die off of it in the wettest area that it was growing in.


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## ab1502

it does have succulent leaves... and a red stem. There is new growth among the stems, but leaves are still falling.. they are also yellowing, curling and getting brown spots. I moved the light forward so it is not directly over the plant, in case it was too much light for it.


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