I cooked my Peace Lily

I've had this plant for a few years. Sometimes it does great, and other times, not so much. I can't figure it out, but I've not yet killed it. Even when it starts looking like something is wrong with it, it still blooms and doesn't die.

The tips of the leaves have been turning brown lately, and I figured the draft from the floor fan was the culprit. So, I moved it and put it on top of my bookshelf, free from drafts and middle of the room lighting.

It's starting to get cold here, so I lit the pilot light on my gas wall furnace, which for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a 6 foot tall, flat furnace, that sticks out of the wall about 8 inches, doesn't have a blower, it just radiates heat. The bookshelf sits right next to it. And that means, that the poor plant sitting on top has been cooking up there for 2 days. I never even thought about it. I saw it this morning, yanked it down, apologized profusely to it, gave it water, and apologized some more.

Most of the leaves are half black now. It did perk up quite a bit while I was at work, and I gave it more water when I got home. I need to know what I should do now. Should I keep it soaked with water for a while? I am going to cut all the black leaves off of it, maybe tomorrow. Is there any chance it'll bounce back?

I feel so bad. I was trying to save it by moving it, then I cooked it!

I went ahead and cut all of the black leaves off, which was a lot. The first picture shows what's left of it, and the 2nd picture shows that almost everything was cut out of it. I put it in the sink and soaked it and am hoping it perks up a little more tomorrow.

If it lives, will anything grow from the parts that have been cut completely down? Or should I try to remove those? (and if so, how do I do that?)

I would leave it alone for now and I think it will recover, they are pretty hardy, just dont over water it. Good Luck, I'm sure it will forgive you :>)
Christine

Thank you! I hope it bounces back.

I usually water every 2 weeks, unless I forget, and the plants tell me if I do. I just wish I could find a happy place for my lily. My pothos and spider plant are doing really well. I can't seem to find anywhere that makes the lily happy. My aloe plant isn't doing well either. I think he's probably crossed over to the point of no return though. Not sure what his deal is? I have one at work, and it's doing great.

My peace lily sits in a corner of my livingroom and my aloe which I only water once a week and give it maybe a tablespoon of water, mine likes to dry out between watering's. If your aloe feels a little mushy take it out of the pot and let it dry for a few days and re-pot maybe it got to wet? Here's my PL and I've had her since she was a tiny thing, she's about 5 years old now :>)
Christine

Aww, that's what mine use to look like. Mine is about 5 years old too.

My aloe is feeling a little mushy and the color is off. I don't water it much at all, probably every 2-3 weeks. I'm not sure what happened to it. My mom had it since I was a kid, and gave it to me last year. I divided it up, gave some to a girl at work, took a pot to work, and kept some for myself. The one I have at work is doing great. I just took it out of the pot and will let it dry for a few days, although the dirt is pretty dry.

I wish everything was as forgiving as my pothos. That poor plant has been to hell and back over the years. I've had it for about 15 years. It was huge at one point, so I put it in a huge pot that has to sit on the floor or on something sturdy. My cats kept laying in it, so I put it on top of my fridge. At some point, they started using it for a litter box...which I didn't notice until it looked about dead. I was able to save 2 little pieces of it and start all over.

It grows like crazy, and I have a few pots of it now and have given some to family members. It seems like every time I cut it back and repot it, I turn around 2 months later and have to do it again. I'm running out of space to put it. If it weren't for my dogs, I'd just let it grow across the floor. One dog wouldn't bother it, but the other one would definitely eat it.

Now I'm not sure about your aloe if the soil is dry and you only water it every 2-3 weeks, maybe something else is going on. By the way I love the picture of your dog smiling, too cute, anyway I hope I didnt give you bad information about taking it out of the soil for a few days, I hate to be the one that became the aloe murderer !!!! I hope someone else chimes in here and gives you advice.
Christine

LOL! I don't think it'll be your fault if the aloe kicks the bucket. I think it's pretty much dead already.

Thanks for the compliment on my pupper. He's always getting a "lip stick" (where his cheeks stick to his upper gum), usually it's in the front, but when I saw this one on the side, looking like Elvis, I had to get a pic.

Here's some thoughts on your aloe. I'll bet the piece you took to work has more light than the one at home, even if you don't realize it. The plant with less light is using less water, and (just guessing here) you are probably watering them about the same, and that may be too much for the plant at home. The problem revolves not around how often you water it, but what is the aeration/moisture level in the soil when you water it. To figure this out, you need to find out the moisture level in the bottom of the pot, where the roots are. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBBh0RPPqu0
Succulents in lower light want to have soil almost completely dry before more water is added. A wooden tester (kebob skewer) that you poke into the soil is going to feel completely dry. If the light is higher, the tester should have the barest trace of moisture.
Confusion can arise because succulent leaves can feel soft and mushy if the plant is underwatered, because the leaves aren't getting any water; but also, if the soil is kept too damp, the leaves will get to feel mushy because the roots are damaged and unable to absorb water, and thus...the leaves won't be getting any water. The only way to tell the difference is to dig into the soil.
As for the peace lily, if the roots haven't been killed by heat, it should grow back. New leaves will continue to grow from the roots that already have green leaves coming from them. It looks like you cut the dead stuff off nicely, just leave it the way it is. Watch to see where new leaves come from!
Brown tips on peace lily leaves are most often a sign of overwatering. In the future (hope there is a future for your plant) water when the soil in the bottom of the pot reaches a slightly damp stage for a plant in medium light; for lower light, the soil should be barely damp.

Thanks! The aloe could very well be low light, and underwatered. When I took the pieces out yesterday, the dirt was dry. They barely sit under any dirt at all, maybe 1/4 inch.

As for my PL, I don't think I've been overwatering it. It only gets water every 2 weeks, unless I forget, and then it gets a little droopy and reminds me to water it. Sometimes I water from the bottom, and sometimes from the top. But they never get so much water that the bottom overflows. Guess I'll start checking the bottom of the pot to make sure. Don't want to add insult to injury.

I'm about to give up on this plant. It looked better the day after I cooked it than it does now. The Charlie Brown xmas tree looks better than this thing does. It has about 5 leaves on it, the top half of those leaves are dark brown/black, and at least half of the new growth it gets, turns black before the leaves can even start to unfold.

I think this weekend, I will take it out of the pot, clean the roots off, gently of course, put it in some new dirt, and wait and see. Unless someone has a better idea. ?

I do know that it is definitely not getting too much water. I think the cooking process just did something to the roots that it can't recover from. This is the first year it hasn't bloomed. *sad face*