Peace Lily leaves turning brown/yellow
Peace Lily is about five years old and it was repotted into a terracotta pot with standard potting soil right after I first acquired the plant. Many leaves were turning brown earlier this year so I repotted this summer (in same pot) with fresh soil that was a mixture of potting soil, peat moss, perlite, and orchid potting mix. I found this mixture in a lengthy article about optimum growing conditions for a Peace Lily. After repotting it did okay for a while, although some leaves were still turning brown, but over the last month it looks worse than ever and I'm not sure what to do now.
Pictures included below (note, it does have new growth among the dying leaves). It's right in front of a window that gets direct eastern sun in the morning, but the blinds are closed to filter some of the light coming in. Any advice would be much appreciated. This plant means a lot to me on a personal level and I want to get it healthy again. Thank you!
Comments (9)
goldstar135
7 years ago
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agoRelated Discussions
HELP!! Peace Lily dying with brown leaves :( (pics included)
Comments (4)Bad soil, too much water and too much salt accumulation as a result, and most likely insufficient light. Remove those browned leaves and re-pot into a more porous mix. It looks like it will survive just fine. Josh...See MorePeace lilies - turning brown in center of flower?
Comments (3)Do i cut the leave off of the bottom of the plant when they first start turning brown or let the glower turn all brown doesn WWhWhiWhitWhiteWhite on theWhite on the green leavWhite on the green leaveWhite on the green leavesWhite on the green leaves comeWhite on the green leaves come fromWhite on the green leaves come from thatWhite on the green leaves come from that whiteWhite on the green leaves come from that white thing in thWhite on the green leaves come from that white thing in theWhite on the green leaves come from that white thing in the center of flower??...See MorePeace Lily, healthy new growth, yellowing leaves
Comments (8)Not sure about changes in water quality, we are on town water and I have always used it for watering my Peace Lily. No recent house moves either and I just checked - we have both fluoride and chlorine added to the water supply. I switched potting mixes due to the aforementioned problem of yellowing leaves. Basically as a trial in a more open mix to determine whether or not I WAS over watering. I don't think I was, as all the roots were white and healthy (although rootbound). I'm debating whether or not to unpot the plant just to check the roots. But maybe I'll wait on that. I need to do a bit of research to determine whether or not I have her planted too low in the medium and if I have, I'm planning on replanting her in the correct position. I'll finish the watering experiment first though, just to rule that out....See MoreHelp! Peace Lily yellow leaves with black spots (including pictures)
Comments (2)Why not post a few more pictures including one of the soil and one of the whole plant, and tell us how you water and what kind of light the plant gets? I suggest you find out exactly what's wrong before doing anything else. Fortunately there are a lot of people here who have lots of experience raising all sorts of plants and dealing with just about any nasty thing that can harm them. I have a few guesses, but a little more information will help folks figure out what's going on and the best way to treat it. Fungus gnats live in the soil, so you have to do something to the soil to get rid of them. I treat them by periodically getting all of my plants to dry out at the same time, because they can't survive without wet soil. I've heard of people getting good results by dissolving part of a mosquito dunk in water and then watering lightly with it. I'm sure someone will pop in and give you some details. Often, the kind of wilting and yellowing leaves I see in your picture are signs of watering issues, and usually it's overwatering. Many people don't believe it's possible, but watering while the soil at the bottom of the pot is still wet keeps the rootlets that carry water to the plant from breathing and ends up killing them, making it look like the plant is thirsty when the problem is drowned roots. I can tell my plants are starting to get dry from their weight, but I check the soil moisture daily with a sharpened wooden dowel (just switched from a cheap moisture meter) stuck all the way to the bottom of the pot, and don't water until the first time the tip feels dry. At that point there's still moisture in the soil, but if I wait any longer the plant will wilt. At that point I water thoroughly until a lot of water has drained from the bottom of the pot and let the pot drain thoroughly. There are ways of helping this along, but we can get to that later. Best of luck!...See More
Jayme M
7 years agoI use tap water and water the plant once a week on Sunday evenings. I don't believe I'm heavy handed on watering because it rarely floods through the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot and when this does happen I always empty the tray so that it's not standing in water.
I would like to know more about PWT and proper soil composition, thanks. The guide I followed gave this ratio: 20% potting soil, 30% peat moss, 20% perlite, and 30% orchid mix. It's definitely possible I did not mix the proper proportions. I'm pretty new to house plants/gardening.
Thank you both for your responses!
And yes it's a giant plant. This is me holding it a few years ago. :) Looked a lot healthier back then.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agoJayme needs a haircut. ;-)
"I don't believe I'm heavy handed on watering because it rarely floods
through the drainage hole at the bottom of the pot and when this does
happen I always empty the tray so that it's not standing in water." We know your soil holds water, but let me show you why your contention doesn't. Let's say I have a horrible soil that holds 6" of perched water at container capacity. Since that's probably Greek to most growers, it means that after gravity is done pushing water out of a recently saturated soil and it has JUST stopped draining, the bottom 6" of soil is fully saturated and essentially airless. This means that the function of ALL roots within that 6" tall column of saturated soil is being limited by a lack of oxygen. Using your contention, everything is fine if I only add enough water to raise the ht of the saturated soil column to 5-7/8", because water won't drain until the ht of the saturated soil column is greater than 6". Essentially, there is no difference of note between a saturated soil column of 6" vs 5-7/8"; which means that over-watering is surely in play as a potential limitation. Too, if you water consistently so no water exits the pot, you ensure ALL the dissolved solids in fertilizer solutions and tapwater remain in the soil. This increases the mineral salt level in the soil (TDS) and can very quickly skew the ratio of a singular nutrient to all of the others, which creates another significant issue.I can clearly see from the list of ingredients that you unwittingly made a very water-retentive soil. Compare what your soil looks like to these soils, which are what I grow in:
You can clearly see there are going to be large pores between the high % of large particles that will be filled w/air instead of water after the soil stops draining subsequent to being saturated. Ideally, you would move in that direction. I promise it will make a BIG difference in your ability to manage your plants' moisture and fertility needs.
This will provide information that will help you turn your plant around.
and
This link, which goes into considerable detail about How Water Behaves in Container Soils, probably represents the largest step forward you can make as a container gardener. If you make the effort to understand the concept it outlines, it should change the way you look at container media and significantly increase the rewards you get from your growing efforts.
Al
Jayme M
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoI appreciate the kind words. Thank you.
I use the gritty mix for most houseplants, but PLs, well grown, need repotting or dividing so frequently that it doesn't make good economic sense to use it for plants as genetically vigorous as PLs - so the 5:1:1 would be my choice.
Terra cotta is a significant benefit when using soils that retain water excessively, but the benefit they offer decreases as porosity and gas exchange of the soils you use increases. That's because the soils are openly porous enough that gas exchange through the open top of the pot are all that's required to keep plants healthy, and there is no need to hope/wish for increased evapotranspiration from plantings created with soils that hold little perched water. Gas exchange in soils that have pores filled with air is 7-10,000 times faster than in soils that are saturated.
I'd wait, only because I know that if you decide to wait there are ways to minimize the negative impact a soil that wants to hold water excessively has on plants. Just tipping the pot right after you water can remove up to 1/2 of the excess water a soil can hold. Compare the volume of perched water in B vs A. Also note the potential value in employing a wick in E.
AlJayme M thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)goldstar135
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years ago
litterbuggy (z7b, Utah)