Peace Lily Needs Urgent Care

Hi,

I have a huge peace lilly that I received from my aunts funeral. I am in tears because I do not know what to do. This plant was given to me because the family thought that of all of us that I would be the one who could take care of it. It was big, green, with 5 blooms and very beautiful just two weeks ago. I have never had an indoor plant. I did not even know the name of this plant until it started to die. I searched everywhere online to find out. I thought I was taking great care of it. I watered it every other day. When it became "droopy" I thougt all it needed was sunlight. So, I put it outside where it could get the best sunlight :-( The kids were also "very helpful" because they too watered it. Finally I brought it in and when I came home from work the picture below is all I had left. I realize now everything I did was wrong.

I know there is hope because only a few leaves were brown (I clipped them) There is a bloom hanging on for dear life. The leaves are still green just soft like cotton. I have repotted it (not sure if I did that right), it is sitting in the sink now, I watered it with the "sink sprinkler" Please help I am afraid if this doenst work it will die. I can not let that happen. I am so depserate if there was an ER for plants I would take it there.

I had just posted this on the other thread but I'll post here too in case you don't see the other one....

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.

Thank you so much. I don't mind keeping it in the house. I just did not know it was a house plant. Can it really recover? Will the stems and leaves really stand up again? It looks so hopeless I just want to leave it in the sink and watch. I am scared to move it the leaves just dangle.

It's hard to say if it'll recover yet--really all you can do is wait and see. If it was just recently that it started looking this bad then it may recover, but if it's been looking that way for weeks then the chances aren't as good. I think it's fine to move it out of your sink though--otherwise when someone comes by to use the sink it'll wind up getting more water which it definitely doesn't need. I'd put it somewhere that is bright but doesn't get any direct sunlight and just keep an eye on it. When you repotted it, did the roots still look white or were they all brown and mushy? If they were still mostly white then there's a decent chance it can recover.

Mine starts to droop when it needs water but it has never drooped to that extreme. It does stand back up once I give it some more. I have noticed that mine is a very thirsty little guy. Between trying to keep the cats from attacking it and me sometimes forgeting to water it every couple days it has made it through alot. So, they are tough. But, once it makes a recovery they are very beautiful plants and very picky. They need the right light and the right amount of water.

It was probably stressed by too much sun to begin with (are any leaves sunburned?) and like ecrane said too much water is just as bad as being bone dry. If it is soggy wet you can aid drying it by removing the plant from the pot and placing it on lots of newspaper to help wick away excess water.

Most peace lilies are tough as nails. I left two plants (must be one of the most popular plants for funerals since this is where I got these two) out for the winter '07 - '08 under a tarp beneath the deck. I don't think the cold is what did them in but it didn't help. I think it was due to no water for 5 to 6 months and no light either. I threw them on the compost heap last summer and noticed a couple of months later that there was new growth coming up. I now have both in the basement out of their pots in an aluminum pan growing a bit. They have a long way to get back to their original state but they are tougher than what you would think.

If the leaves start browning or are just plain ugly you can cut them off (or all of them off) and with the right care they should be better than new in a few months. Outdoor growing helps them put on lots of new growth but again like ecrane said - start them in a shady place and gradually introduce them to more sun but not full midday or afternoon sun.

Thank you guys so much. The roots were tanish brown but not "mushy". It was not wet at all felt like the potting soil when you get it out of the bag but drier. If I did not know any better it would have thougt it was too dry. Once I brought it in I did not water it. Some of the leaves/stems are still sticking straight up, only 3 or so. I cut the leaves that turned brown off close to the pot. All the leaves that are left are all green just really soft. Would I do better cutting off all of the leaves? Should I buy some "medicine" from the nursery. I jsut really want it to live. How long before I see progress?

Also, it started looking this bad a few days ago about 4 or 5 days ago.

if the soil is dry you might want to water it. mine always perks up once it has a good watering. like they said take your finger and stick it down in the soil. if it is dry water it and let it drain in the sink. hopefully the roots didnt rot.

Given how frequently you said you were watering and the fact that the kids were helping out and watering more I had assumed overwatering was more likely, but underwatering has very similar symptoms. If you were watering that frequently and it was still too dry, there are two possibilities. One is that the plant was very rootbound--did you notice a lot of circling roots when you repotted it? If you did then I hope the new pot was a bit bigger than the old one. The other possibility if it wasn't rootbound is that you were giving it little tiny sips of water instead of a good thorough watering. If potting soil gets too dry, it can become hard to rewet, so when you water a little bit it can sometimes find a gap somewhere and run right through and out the bottom making you think you watered it enough, when in reality most of the pot is still really dry. When you water really thoroughly so that the soil gets wet all the way through, then the plant will be happier and you won't have to water it as often, so everyone wins!

When I repotted it there were tons of roots around it they were stuck to the soil. What is rootbound? I repotted it in the same pot because I thought it was over watered to my plan was to wrap it up in newspaper to soak up some of the water. Please keep in mind that I brought it in and stopped watering it for the second week because it began to look droopy at the end of the first week. Some of the leaves were brown but not dry just soft and brown I cut all of them off. All of the leaves are pretty now just droopy and soft. Would I do better just cutting all of the leaves down to the pot and starting over? Do you know how long it will be before I see any progress? Sorry for all of the questions but I am really desperate.

Root bound means that root ball is basically roots and hardly any soil left. The roots would probably be circling at the bottom of the pot. It doesn't sound like this was root bound.

With the leaves being soft and droopy it sounds like the plant was just sitting in water and slowly rotting. What little bit I've read so far it sounds like the roots are rotting and I hate to tell you to yank it out of the pot, shake off as much soil as possible, and just let it sit for a day or two to dry out but then I hate to say let it alone and watch it slowly die too. Leaves will grow back but only if the plant is not totally rotted. The only consolation is if it kicks the bucket you can buy peace lilies at most garden centers and big box stores in different sizes and prices.

If the roots are rotting you will sometimes find they smell. So, if you do take it out of the pot I would cut off the roots that are rotting and plant it in some fresh soil. My husband and I without knowing were watering our corn plant back to back. I didnt know he was watering it and he didnt know I was. So, one day when I was passing by I smelt this nasty odor and I smelt the plant and sure enough it was it. The leaves started to turn yellow then to brown and I knew somehing wasnt right. I googled the symptoms and sure enough root rot came up. We washed all the soil off and replanted it in a bigger pot because the roots were massive with fresh soil. It is doing great now. I now only water my plants on Sundays except for my peace lilly. I water that twice a week once on Sunday and once on Thurs. If your kids want to help out with the plant I would suggest picking a day for you all to water it together. My daughter is 5 and I have a calender for her marked witht he days we water and she has her own little water to water her plants. There are also these terracota worms you can get from Home Depot I think they are called "Wormie" and I put those in her pots and it shows her if her plants need watered. Here is one of them. But, there is hope for your plant. They are some tough plants as my cats have tortured mine many times.

Ahh wormie so cute. I will go by and see if they have some. I took the plant out this morning and "shook/peeled" most of the old soil off. I replanted it in the same pot though no smell. If it doesnt look a little better or the leaves turn brown I will cut all of them off and pray lol. I was sure there was some miracle doctor plant medicine or somehting I could buy lol.
I will keep you guys posted. Please keep the suggestions comming.

They like humidity, so I'd mist the leaves with water couple times a day to help it recover. But don't add any water to the soil if it is already wet.

Is the plant still in the pot that you show in the sink?

u_nika,
I (the "green thumb"of the family) had 2 peace lillies given to me to take care of from 2 different family member's funerals. One was my mother & the other was my husband's grandmother. Both plants died in spite of my best efforts, & grandma's plant is expected to go back to my husband's uncle when they return to the USA. I carefully packed away the big ceramic pot it was in, & when they return I will buy a healthy one, put it in the pot & give it to them. I have grown many houseplants, & peace lillies are just too persnickity for my taste. My advice, if the plant dies, is to not lose sleep over it. Go buy another -live, if you really want to try again, or a silk one if you decide houseplants really aren't your thing, & continue to think about your aunt each time you see it. You see, it's what the plant represents that counts, not the plant itself.

My Peace Lilly droops when it gets thirsty. I let it soak in the sink until it perks up, pour off the excess water from the bottom of the pot, and place it back in the window. My lily is in a bulb pot. It is in the same pot it was in when I bought it in November. Is there a way to know it is time to re-pot? I didn't know it likes to be misted, I will start misting mine! Hope your plant recovers u_nika!

I'm not sure it's good to let any plant go without water until it droops as a sign it's thirsty. Better to water it when it needs it before it droops. The only way you can know is to feel the potting medium with your finger, preferably sticking it down into the medium a bit. If it's very dry, then water the plant thoroughly. If it's not dry, don't water. Also, the surface of the potting mix will feel slightly cool if it's moist. As far a knowing when to repot, tip the plant out of its container. If the roots have overtaken the soil, then it needs a one size larger pot. I don't want to be argumentative, but misting is of questionable value, especially if there is air moving through the house, for example with forced air conditioning (that includes heating). The constant movement of the air moves the mist away so quickly it can't possibly do any good.