Plants don't care for a heated air from a furnace blowing on them either so drafts may be an issue. Also look carefully for spider mites under the leaves as Crotons are very susceptable to mites in a dry warm winter situation. If the root ball looks OK, try misting a few times a day.

Jen...Usually, lower leaves drop. Are you sure your Croton doesn't have spider mites? Do you see any webs or feel stick leaves? Crotons dislike dry air; they need high humidity. Did you turn the heat on yet? Shorter daylight hours take a toll on plants. However, I have no idea why top leaves dropped. Do they discolor first? Toni

I'm having the same problem with my croton plant (Bush on fire) drooping. The soil is usually damp unless I've just watered. The humidity is really dry like 18 - 22% with winter set in so I've placed a plastic over the croton. Also have a humidifier set up and 6 pails of water sitting around to help the humidity but to no avail. Plastic over the plant has helped the last of 3 croton plants (in same pot) to not droop till now. First the smallest, then the med. drooped and died during summer when a/c was on. The leaves are very colorful, shiny and strong and they stay that way even as they go down. I used miracle potting mix and wonder if this is the right soil? It sits in a south facing window in a mini greenhouse with extra plastic over the plant itself because the humidity is so low. I have containers of water under the plants in the greenhouse as well but with the greenhouse cover being quite loose at the bottom the air is very dry in there too. Also covered the bottom shelf with plastic to block some of the dry air and keep some circulation - not making a difference. What to do? any ideas? Then today as I was watering the plant, there were bugs, I think because of being closed in plastic - very damp around the plant. Will try the soap in water container first as that seems the least expensive at the moment. Thanks in advance.

That's crazy, Purp! Most of my houseplants are in moisture control and they seem to love it! They're all thriving and growing like crazy. But maybe it's because I don't water, per se, but rather mist heavily only sporadically with water from my dehumidifier, then once in a while, i water them thoroughly. I dont know, bit i do know that I dont wAyer them nearly as much as I mist them. I also add miracle grow plant food. Thanks for the advice! I can't get any perlite right now, maybe next week, but I did move the plants outside in the sun. I gave them a spot for now that only gets about an hour of full direct sun per day and I'll move them to another place that gets more full sun in a few days to acclimate them. Hopefully moving them won't upset them!