Peace Lily - What Am I Doing Wrong?

Hello everyone. I'm new here, and looking for some desperately needed advice.

I'm having a terrible problem with my Peace Lily. I got it last August, and for several months, it was absolutely beautiful and thriving. Not so anymore... the leaves are constantly browning and dying off. It continues to put on new leaves, but for every new leaf it puts on, another dies off. It looks generally wilted all the time, even though I give it the same amount of water. Admittedly, there *are* times when I forget to do it on schedule, and I don't always remember to mist it, either. I don't think it's going to survive, so I haven't taken as good a care of it these past couple of months or so.

I had it in a 12" pot for a very long time, but once the leaves started dying, I cut them off. I wasn't sure if I should or not, but I reasoned that a dying leaf was taking away from the healthy parts of the plant, and it was best to get rid of them. After a while, the plant started looking pretty scrawny, and I decided to move it into a 10" pot. I think I did a really bad thing when I repotted it, though. The roots were visible everywhere (side to side, and across the bottom) and I trimmed them back a bit. *cringes* It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I think it must have been a terrible mistake?

Also, I think it was too close to the heater in the wintertime. I kept it near (not directly in front of) a north window, so it could get a bit of the morning sun, and didn't think about the fact that it was just a few feet away from the gas heater. (Pretty sure that's where all my troubles began. It started looking bad around January.)

Right now, I have several new, rolled-up leaves that are either just starting to unfurl, or looking as they never *will* unfurl. A couple of the unfurled leaves are already yellowed and drooping. (The others are upright.) When leaves do open up, they are all much smaller than what I had last year. I'd say they are half the size, if not less, than the size it's leaves used to be back then.

I don't know what to do to bring it back to life. Can anyone point me in the right direction, please? Or is it a lost cause? Should I be fertilizing it? (I never have done that.)

This message was edited Jun 24, 2008 7:21 AM

Also, when I trim off the dead/dying leaves, how far down should I cut them? I started off cutting them about halfway, but the stem continued to yellow and die. So I kept trimming until it was at soil level. Now, I just cut them off level with the soil in the beginning. Is that wrong?

Edited to add: I've been reading through this forum, and found out that peace lily's like to be a bit root bound. *sigh* I knew it was a mistake to trim those roots. Dumb, dumb, dumb. (I'll never do that again, with any plant!)

I think maybe I'll put it into a smaller pot... that might help it bounce back quicker...

This message was edited Jun 24, 2008 7:19 AM

If you will go to the Lilies Forum someone there can help you.

If you bought your peace lily in a 12" pot from the grower or nursery, that was probably the appropriate pot size for the plant. They require transplanting about every 2 years if they are growing well, usually into a pot 1" larger and with fresh potting soil and some root pruning. Nurseries have the most favorable light levels, which homeowners may not, and they fertilize regularly to keep the foliage dark and glossy.

Dead leaves in and of themself will not cause your plant to decline. They are a symptom of something else, generally overwatering, overcrowding, and/or insufficient soil and fertilizer to maintain the plant. Yellowing or brown leaves should be cut off at soil level, otherwise you wind up having a plant with dying stems sticking out that are unsightly and need to be cut back eventually anyway.

Your picture looks as if your plant is overwatered or isn't draining properly, possibly with roots that remain soggy, causing the leaves to curl and die before reaching maturity. If you want to try again, take the plant out of the pot, remove as much old soil from the pot and root area as possible, prune roots only to remove dead looking or rotted material. (You may have already done this with your previous pruning.) You may wind up with a smaller plant, but this is better than having a larger plant with unhealthy roots that cannot support growth. Use a good grade of new potting soil and put the plant back in the 10" or 12" pot, whichever allows about a finger's worth of room around the inside edge of the pot. Make sure your plant gets plenty of indirect light. Lower humidity was probably more the culprit than your gas heating. It's difficult to maintain humidity in a heated room. Misting helps, but unless you had a system to mist at very frequent intervals, you just can't keep humidity levels optimum.

Fertilize either with time release pellet fertilizer that you add to the planting soil or use a liquid fertilizer (20-20-20) according to package directions. I use a very highly diluted solution of liquid fertilizer everytime I water because it suits me to be more hands on, and I don't need to remember when last I did fertilize. Cease using liquid fertilizer as the days get shorter and natural light levels in the room decrease, so your plant isn't overstimulated to try to grow continually. Many people treat houseplants as annuals, replacing them with a fresh one from the nursery if they get tired looking, but peace lilies (Spathiphyllums) can grow for years.

1) get them away from your heater, air conditioner, or window -- peace lilies HATE drafts and are low-light plants. Mine are in the office and thrive under the flourescent lighting here. If I was to bring it home, though, I'd put it at least a foot away from a window so it doesn't get burned. The brown leaves you have almost look like sunburn so you may have put it too close to the window.

2) cut the browning/yellow stems all the way to the bottom. You are right, they are taking away nutrients from the healthy stems

3) they do like to be root bound but that doesn't mean you should be seeing roots coming out of the bottom, top or sides of the pot. It sounds like you should be putting it back in the 12-inch pot. Before you do that, however, get rid of all the old soil again and check for root rot. Cut off any mushy roots and then use a well-draining soil that's not too heavy or too light -- they like to be moist but not wet. Let the top inch or 2 of the soil dry out between waterings, then water really well, allowing the water to leech out the bottom of the pot before putting it back in the tray. If the leaves start to droop between waterings, then increase the frequency of watering to maybe when just the top inch is dry. My lily is roughly on a once-a-week watering schedule but sometimes it doesn't need to be watered for a few more days after because the soil is still moist.

4) fertilize once a month between March and November with an all-purpose fertilizer. Mine is Miracle Gro 8-7-6 blend and it seems to be doing fine with it.

5) DON'T GIVE UP ON IT!! These plants are sooooo hardy and I brought mine back from the brink of death. It had been sadly neglected by my boss.

Pamgarden: It was originally in either an 8" pot. I moved it to the 12" pot because it was so large, I thought that would be best. Going by what you said, it should be fine to remain in a 10" pot while it recovers, right?

I have to retract what I said about never fertilizing. I've used the Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food Spikes since I bought the plant. (I never thought of it as "fertilizer" since it didn't say that on the front of the packaging. *blushes* That was dumb, I know.) The potting soil I use is Miracle-Gro Potting Mix. The package said it fed plants for 3 months, so I waited until that amount of time had passed before I started using the spikes. When I downgraded it to the 10" pot, I used the same soil, and haven't used the spikes since then, though I think the three months has passed by now.

Should I be cutting off *everything* that starts to yellow/brown as soon as I notice it? I tend to wait until it spreads pretty far across the leaves, because I just can't bear to cut off that much all at once... and, I worry that too much pruning would hurt the plant.

cruz4him: Until the other night, I had the plant in an area near the front door, which faces south and stays open throughout the day. (No air conditioning in the living room.) There is also a south-facing window, and in the late afternoons the plant probably *was* getting far too much light. The whole area gets lit up pretty well during that time of day.

I have since moved it to sit on the bar that divides the kitchen/living area... a dimmer area about seven feet away from the nearest window. Is that a better place?

When I said the roots were visible, I didn't mean across the tops/sides of the pot. I meant in the soil still surrounding it after I took it out of the pot. I thought it was too much (since I was moving it to the smaller pot), and I kept thinking root-bound is bad, so I trimmed them down so there would be room for root growth in the smaller pot. (Gosh, I must sound really dumb... it sounds dumb to me as I try to describe what I was thinking back then... but at the time, I thought it made sense.)

And finally... a question about the pot I am using. (See pic.) Are the completely enclosed pots not good to use with peace lilys? This is the type of pot I use for all my indoor plants. (I have two devil's ivy, and a mother-in-law's tongue, in addition to the peace lily. All of those are thriving and growing very nicely!)

Thank you, both of you, for all the advice you have given me so far. And Smokey_SC, I will look for the Lilys forum, and see if I have access to it or not. :)

Yes, it does sound like it was getting too much light and NO, you do not sound dumb! I'm sure we've all done the wrong things with the right intentions (and still do!) but the beauty of sites like these is that we can always find someone to correct us nicely! :-)

As for your pot, I can't tell if there are holes on the bottom or not for drainage. If not and you really like that pot, then I'd suggest double-potting and use a pot with several drainage holes for the inner liner. I experimented a bit and found my lilies did best in pots with drainage holes. Just be sure to water all the way through until the plant "pees" and then wait for it to stop dripping before putting it back in the outer pot. I actually have mine in a self-watering pot and my lily is loving it so much!

Issues about being root-bound and pruning differ from plant to plant. Some really like to be stuffed in there and some like a little, not a lot, of elbow room. For pruning my lilies, I just trim the leaves unless the whole leaf is yellow or brown, at which point I would prune all the way down to the bottom of the stem.

Healthy plants require drainage. When you say your pot is completely enclosed, I'm thinking it's a cache pot, one without holes that will keep a table or other surface dry by not allowing water to escape. If the pot is without drainage, eventually the roots will get soggy, rot, and be unable to support the leaves above. You may think you wait long enough between waterings to allow the soil to dry, but that is really difficult to judge in a closed pot.

If pruning was overly severe, the leaves on your plant will die back to the number that can be supported by the root system. Some amount of pruning is good for the roots. It actually stimulates the plant to grow new feeder roots, but this takes time and energy, and isn't visible above the soil level as new leaves are.

Using spike fertilizers intended for houseplants is fine if you are following the package directions. This is where drainage is especially important, since fresh water draining through the plant will carry away salts that can build up in fertilized potting soil over time.

If the location you have chosen is too hot or too sunny for your comfort, it will be for your plant as well. Spaths do well in lower levels of natural light, and as cruz said, are blissfully happy to live under flourescent lights. In nature, they live under a tall canopy of trees, never seeing direct sunlight, get plenty of moisture that drains off quickly, and a constant supply of nutrients.

Please don't feel dumb. Every plant has its particular requirements, and becoming familiar with all of them can seem daunting. The nice thing about houseplants is that they tend to be durable and come back with patience.

cruz4him: No, there are no drainage holes in the pot at all. I'm not overly fond of it, so I'll just go ahead and replace it. I've seen several lately that allow for drainage, and look very pretty. Now I have a good reason to get one. :)

Can trimming the leaf save it, or will it continue to yellow/brown anyway? There are a few tips that are just starting to brown... if trimming the leaf will save it, that would be wonderful!

Pamgarden: I never heard the term "cache pot" before, but I guess that's what I've got. (Yet another new thing learned!)

When I trimmed the roots, I trimmed off... hmmm... probably between 2-3" off the bottom. There were still several inches worth left untouched.

Thank you for explaining the importance of drainage, and what it does. I did follow the instructions for the spikes, using only as many as was required for the pot size. (If I have instructions I can reference to, that spells everything out in novice-terms, I do a lot better on things like this. LOL)

Again, I want to thank you both for being so helpful to me, and so patient with my questions. I'm learning a great deal, and I'm starting to feel like I have a good shot at saving this plant. :)

We have a few of these that I take care of at work, and my boss, who knows nothing about plants, occasionally on my days off decides to get someone else to water - whether the plants need it or not. Often when this overwatering occurs, this is what happens. Cut the stem off as far down as possible, and let the plant get mostly dry before rewatering.

Your lily is suffering from sun/heat burn on the leaves, the dryness all winter from the heater will have helped to dry the foliage too, these lilies flower best when they are in a pot that is full or root/top growth as the plant that is in too large a pot will need time to fill the pot at the expense of top growth /flowers, by the way, these plants dont have flowers as most plants do, but what we call the flowers on them are actually coloured leaves called spathes, as for cutting away the roots that poked out of the soil, you will have to let the plant make more new roots for now, when you replant any plants either in pots or out doors, you need to look and see the mark on the plants where they were sitting level with the soil and plant them to this depth again, even if it means a deeper pot rather than a wider one.
You need to get your plant into a pot where there is drainage holes at the bottom to allow for good drainage, it is the soil you need to wet, not sit the roots in water, if you want to buy a new pot with drainage holes, put your plant into a standard green, orange or brown pot, sit the pot/plant into a bowl of water till the soil turns darker brown and then remove the pot, drain away all the water that drips from the pot, them place this into your decorative pot, this will stop the plant sitting half way up to it's neck in water for long periods of time.
You would not normally remove/cut the roots from indoor plants unless at potting time you had to remove rotten or dead roots, some plants can be made to stay small by cutting away some of the roots, but this method, is so the plant stops growing upwards while it makes new roots, your lily cant grow this way, it needs lots of roots before it will flower.
To feed your plant, you will have far better control of the amount of feed it is getting if you use an indoor plant liquid feed to the directions on the bottle, for your size of lily, I would be feeding it every month while it is in the growing season, all plants have a rest period, normally in winter, therefore you water less, just enough to stop the soil drying out completely and dont feed again till you see new growth start again in spring or when you notice new growth.
It is never a good idea to reuse the same soil for re-potting plants as the plant will have already used up all the goodness that was in the old soil and it will need new soil to help it get the nutrients and air/ moisture retention new soil will give, also old soil could be harbouring disease.
You plant has had a lot of stressful treatment flung at it of late, so for now, I would one last time, remove it from the pot, gently remove all/most of the old soil, do this when the soil is damp as it will shake off easier, wash/scrub the pot you want, use one with drainage holes in the bottom, then put some soil in the bottom of the pot and sit the plant into this soil, check the plant is not too deep in the pot, when right, add some new soil/compost around the outside or the root area and gently with your fingers, poke it down to the roots so there are no air holes left in the soil, keep doing this till the pot is then filled with the new soil, always leave about an inch soil free at the top of the pot for watering, give the sides of the pot a hard tap with your hands to settle all the soil, and then water the plant, make sure you allow all the excess water to stop running out the bottom of the pot, then sit the plant into your fancy pot, place it in a position where it gets light, but not close to a window where the sun magnifies the sun/heat and the plant should recover over a period of time.
It will not be instant regrowth, but gradually it will send up new leaves, the smaller leaves you mentioned are the baby immature leaves and need time to grow larger, or gain strength to form larger leaves, when you do re-pot, cut off all the yellowing dead leaves and nothing more, your plant may sit in shock for a week or two till it recovers from all the harsh treatment you have given it, but it will recover in time, after it starts to send up new leaves, then start to add feed to the water as directed on the bottle, keep the plant misted as they need cool, humidity to grow well. for all house plants, it is best to use indoor plant potting compost instead of ones that have added feeds/fertilisers already added, you are better adding the right amount of feed yourself to be able to control the dosage. best of luck to your plant and you. WeeNel.

Dont know if your still looking for help on your day lily or not ... but i have one that i have had since mid-May. The plant info that came with it said it could be an indoor or outdoor plant,to keep soil moist, and it came in an 8 inch pot. Thats all i had to go off of to raise this plant. I decided to put it on my back porch where it gets 4-5 hours of sun a day(direct sun) I was watering it every day... but have started to slack off a little and now water about every 3 days. My lily has about doubled its size.. I bought my mother and mother-in-law one( both have been gardening way longer than me) Both of their plants are inside in front of large windows with indirect minimal light...I am shocked at how much mine has grown when i seen theirs...
As far as repotting plants go, I watch a show call Gardening by the Yard ...great tips on lots of thins. A few weeks ago he talked about repotting and did mention trimming old roots that looked dead or just shabby. He said that it would cause the plant to grow new roots and growth and be healthier. He trimmed a very limited amout of roots of, none of the big stems. One tip he gave was that if you had to trim back to much because of rotted roots,etc. just be sure to trim the top part of the plant also to even up what was left of the growth. Hope this info helps.

a teaspoon of lemon dish detergent in a half pint water container including the bubbles does the trick for mine (once a week).