Alocasia Silver Dragon keeps sacrificing old leaves but hasn't produced a single new one in over a month. Looking for advice.
I'm fairly new to Alocasias and I'm trying to understand whether my plant is behaving normally or if I'm missing something.
I bought this Alocasia Silver Dragon on 31st May. Since then, it has produced a new leaf , but after that it has already started sacrificing another old one and hasn't produced a single new leaf.
Here's the timeline:
Bought: 31st May
Repotted: No, it's still in the original nursery pot and nursery substrate.
Fertilizer: None so far.
Location: Bright indoor window with plenty of indirect light. It gets some gentle morning sun but no harsh afternoon sun.
Watering: I water when the top of the soil begins to dry. The mix seems to retain moisture fairly well.
Humidity: Average indoor humidity (I'm in India).
Initially, I noticed one older leaf slowly yellowing. I assumed it was normal acclimation after bringing it home.
Now another leaf is turning yellow from the center and looks like it's going to be the next one sacrificed.
The rest of the plant still looks healthy and firm. There are no obvious signs of pests, stem rot, or mushy tissue. The corm also feels firm.
Today I gently slid the root ball out of the pot without disturbing it much. The roots are white and seem healthy, and they're wrapping around the outside of the root ball, but the plant doesn't look extremely root-bound to me.
So now I'm confused.
Is this simply an Alocasia cycling old leaves because it's preparing to push new growth?
Or is it likely nutrient deficiency since it's been in the same nursery mix for over a month?
Would you:
Leave it in the nursery pot until it produces a new leaf?
Repot it into a chunky aroid mix (orchid bark, perlite, coco coir/coco peat, etc.)?
Start fertilizing before repotting?
I'm trying to avoid stressing it unnecessarily.
I'd really appreciate any advice from experienced Alocasia growers. Thanks!