Peace lily doing poorly after one week. help!

we got this Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) at Lowes last week. it looked good at the time of purchase but now it seems as it is going down hill fast. it is an 8" diameter plastic pot that has 4 drain holes. it has been watered once since it came to its new home. we initially placed it near a north facing window. it is now about 7 feet away against a wall. my suspicion is that it got sunburned. what should we do next: should the leaves be pruined (there are quite a few) or should we leave it alone? it had a flower that tuned brown rapidly.

thanks for the help!
corey

edit: i just noticed that although this is a north facing window there is a large apartment building, with many windows, on the opposite side of the street, that is acting like a giant mirror casting direct sunlight through the window into this apartment. so, i am even more sure the lily got a sunburn. it is now in a place where it will not be exposed to this light.


This message was edited Jan 31, 2009 11:56 AM

This message was edited Jan 31, 2009 11:59 AM

Best to cut it all the way to soil level- everything including bloom spike. Put it where it gets no direct sunlight and keep the soil slightly moist but not sopping wet. With luck it will rejuvenate. No fertilizer at this point.

should i just cut off the bad leaves? there are still severall good ones. my gf does not want to cut anything. i need solid advice to convince her what we need to do next in order to save this plant..

People are always afraid to cut a plant back. If it is old enough to have a root system, believe me it will come back. It has gotten too dry, and the bad leaves will never recover. If there are a few good leaves, go ahead and leave them. But don't let this plant ever get (too) dry again! When you push your finger down into the soil and it's drying out, water it! Put it in the sink and let the water run out the bottom so it gets a good soaking.

That looks like cold damage to me.

What was the temp outside when you brought it home? Was the plant wrapped when you took it from the store to your vehicle?

I don't think the north window, even with the other apartment building's windows casting reflected light, would cause sunburn.

I've grown these for years - they like a lot of water - I've found the best way is to keep it in a nursery pot and insert into a prettier pot with no hole - then pour a pitcher full in - if you don't water enough they will start to get brown around the edges -- Indirect light even from an east or west window is even ok - I'm not sure what the yellow is - in other plants - I've seen could be either iron or ph off - try adding some strong brew tea - cooled off of course - LMK how it does

These plants are really easy to grow once you get the conditions right, they like a good drink of water but if they sit in water, after an hour, pour off the excess, when you water and it sits in a saucer, you will know it has had enough when the top soil turns a darker colour, remove the rest of the water, too much sunlight causes yellowing too as does SUDDEN cold, dont have it close to a heat source either as this will dry out the foliage and cause yellowing, for best results and good flowering, they need to be in a pot that looks too small, like the whole pot is full to bursting with foliage and roots, when you repot it, dont go for a really large pot, maybe just one or two sizes bigger, add fresh compost too. when you notice new growth starting give your plant a feed with liquid plant food from the garden store, start the feeding with half strength for the first few feeds and then increase the dose if you think it needs it. I would only remove the yellow leaves by cutting them down at the base, let the plant recover from this treatment and care for it as I mentioned, check under all the leaves just to make sure you dont have any little insects sucking on the foliage too, good idea to mist the foliage when the air feels dry, they like this slight moisture. Good luck. WeeNel.

It looks like cold damage to me also, rather than sun damage. I would not cut the entire plant back, don't see a reason for that, I would just remove the damaged leaves.

Peace Lily does very well in lower light situations and does not like direct sun, I think that's why they are so popular in malls, office situations and as house plants. An east facing window with early morning sun would be okay, but even that is not necessary.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/57837/

http://www.bachmans.com/retail/tipsheets/indoor_plants/SpathyphylumPeaceLilies.cfm

that really looks like cold damage when buying plants in winter you need to bags one covering the plant tied on the pot and then a bigger bag blow air into it and tie it also so it give an insulation also what I do is get the car warm it up and drive up to the door to pick up my wrapped plant

it is very common for cold damage to show up anything from three days to two weeks after bringing the plant home most people assume they did the damage not understanding that a tropical plant even with a few second of cold air can get very damaged.

Yes, as I said, too...it looks like cold damage.

I bought a beautiful LARGE Philodendron selloum a few years back at a grocery store that only occasionally carries plants. I should have known better, because it was below zero outside...but it was a 'steal of a deal'....I did wrap the plant, but took it to a cold car and it had a cold trip home....the Philo didn't show the cold damage for at least two weeks.

It was somewhat a surprise when it did show up and took me a while to recall that it was a mighty cold day when I brought the plant home.

I notice that coreymon hasn't returned to answer ?s about the temps when the plant was purchased.

oh well learned my lesson, I always heat the car and pick up at the door and actually try to tell myself it is not a good idea and try not to buy when the weather is below freezing

thanks to all who commented. the lily is doing ok. we removed some of the really bad leaves and kept the rest. it now has two flowers emerging, however one has a brown spot on it and it has not completely uncurled yet. any thoughts on this problem?

here is what the rest of the lily looks like.

as the new foliage comes keep cutting out the damaged one it will take a few months but it will eventually look great as for the brown spot you can cut the stem down or leave it till the flower is spent then cut it nothing can be done to remove the spot at this point

do you know what can cause a brown spot on the bloom before it opens like this?

I think it may be due to the fact that the bloom was developing when you brought the plant home, and if the leaves were, indeed was damaged by the cold when you brought it home (you didn't answer my question about the temps when you brought the plant home) then the developing bloom was likely damaged at the same time.

Good to hear it's doing better!

Sorry, I wanted to post a new thread but easn't sure how. I put this in the right place now. lol

This message was edited Apr 10, 2009 8:36 AM

The best thing to do now is make sure it's being watered properly and hope for the best. Anytime you think it might be time to water, try sticking your finger down a couple inches into the pot and see how it feels, if it's really wet then hold off on watering, but if it's feeling dry then give it a drink. I would also make sure the kids don't help you take care of it--they have good intentions but don't understand that too much water is just as bad as not enough, and until it recovers you don't want to stress it again by having them water it when it doesn't need more water. I would definitely keep it indoors at least until it recovers--if you want it outside after that you'll need to adjust it gradually to outdoor light or else the leaves can sunburn. And in TX I doubt if it would want a lot of sun outdoors--if you do want it outside I'd find a shady spot for it. Or keep it indoors permanently, most people grow these as houseplants.

texas is to dry for it outside and it also hate sunlight bad combo for outside, it will do better with indirect light indoors where it is more humid

If you still have your receipt I would take it back to Lowe's and exchange it for a healthy one. Then carefully review the care suggestions in this thread.

My grandmother always had peac lillies....they were always beautiful and she did nothing but put them in the shower once a week and let water run over them. no extra care for sun light or anything! i may also suggest that you have it too close to the wall! PAINT KILLS THEM! one time she put one outside that she had had for six years and it was completely dead within two weeks!

This message was edited May 21, 2009 10:38 AM

This message was edited May 21, 2009 10:39 AM

If she put one outside after it had been inside for 6 yrs, I think it's much more likely that the sudden change in conditions and/or exposing it to too much heat, sun, etc caused it to die.

To me, it looks like this plant is suffering from fluouride damage, or maybe a fertilizer burn. If you set the water out in a jar without a lid for a few days, or catch rainwater, that might help. If you are feeding it, you need to stop for a few months.

I read that peace lilies do not like chlorinated water. Make sure to either let the water set out or it is better to boil the water and then let it cool.