My bracteosum, tannii and Hibiki don't drop their leaves each year...they hold them for a couple+ years and as they get more mature the top leaves can hold for even longer stretches. When they are on the young side (which your is) it's initially hard to get a feel for them. Well, I found them a little perplexing at first. My tannii (regular form) was the first I had of this type and it had me scratching my head for at least the first year and a half.