I have had a blood leaf In the yard for six or seven years. Very pretty, I liked it a lot.

The other day to my great surprise I saw it was almost completely stripped of leaves of any size. All that was left was red stems and a few very small leaves. I clipped off the few remaining ones and have them in a jar of water hoping roots will sprout.

Will roots grow from these?

Any idea what would defoliate a plant like this?

The nursery didn’t have one and maybe it’s just as well for now.