These plants will be fine grown in semi-hydroponics. If the root ball is almost solid roots along the old pot walls you can slice them off with a large knife just like cutting the rind off a pineapple. Once the plants and roots are all free form each other, fill the lower third of the pot with LECA and set your plants. Get as much of the old soil off as you can even if you need to cut it off, new roots will grow back. if you can, put the plant on a heating mat until you see new growth. The plants(s) will stall a bit but then start to grow soon. Cutting the roots won't hurt them in the long run. If the water is only an inch or two deep and not filling the new pot, you can get by without an air supply but it still might help. If you are planing on growing them with the roots immersed in water then You should use the stone since there will be no air getting to the roots.

Woody, I've never cut my peace lily down to the soil line, so I can't say if it's good, or not good to do. Personally, I wouldn't do it unless the leaves happened to get torn and tattered from lets say, a giant wind storm, or a blender mishap. You might want to consider cutting and re-potting in the spring, before the flush of new growth. You can simply cut the plants root-ball into as many sections as you like using a sharp knife. If you want to pot up just two potted plants, which by the way can include more then one plant per pot. Just cut the root-ball in half. If you want more, cut the halves in half, so on and so forth. You can also pot up just one plant per pot getting rid of the rest, whatever way you want. Start by taking the whole plant out of the pot, root-ball and all and cut from the top of the soil down to the bottom. just like you were cutting a piece of birthday cake, or bread. Get as many roots as possible per plant, or bunch, shaking off some, or most of the soil, then plant the sections into their own smaller pots to either keep, or give away. Billy Rae

Marie, yesterday I replied, but my computer froze..lost everything..sigh. So sorry. Here's an example where you need to cut.. X X 000XLOOO X 00000XOOOOO X X 000000X0000000 Marie, X's are the main trunk. 0's are stems. In the first horizonal line, let's say that's where the brown/dead leaf is. L in line one is where you'd cut off the stem and leaf. Nearest the trunk (X) Hope you understand. This isn't the greatest example, but it's the best I can do..lol.. The problem with foils and lined baskets...when a plant is watered, and something is blocking water from draining, water builds up inside the foil/liner/pot without holes.. Roots sitting in water, constantly, causes root rot. Hope you understand why it's so important a pot needs drainage holes. Roots sitting in water emits a terrible odor. Stagnant. They eventually get mushy and die. PL can't live without roots. How will you know when you need to repot? If soil dries out completely, and you find yourself watering daily, it needs a larger pot. You can remove the entire plant from its pot. If there are more roots than soil, it needs a larger container. It doesn't need too large pot. Increase 1-2 sizes bigger. Actually, PL's like to be a little snug, they tend to flower more. But as I stated, if the soil dries to a point it's cracked or there's more roots than soil, it should be repotted. If you decide to remove plant from the pot, and find mostly roots...measure the pot size..To do this, using a ruler or measureing tape, set the ruler on the top edge directly across to the other side. This number equals the pot size. Let's say it's a 4" pot. You'd need to increase to a 5-6" container. When you shop for a pot, the size is usually labeled. I suggest a plastic pot. Don't forget a saucer. After you repot, water thoroughly until water seeps from the drainage holes. PL's do best in medium, bright light..An east window is fine. West and South summer sun could burn the leaves unless you place your PL a few feet away from the window. Test soil by sticking your finger or a stick inside soil. If it comes out wet, the bottom soil is still wet. It varies. You don't want soil too wet or too dry. PL's need more water in summer, 'depending on your house temps, light and humidity.' You'll need to fertiilze a few weeks after repotting. Look for an All Purpose Fertilizer or equally balanced, like 10-10-10. My PL's are fertilized in spring and summer. Once daylight hours shorten, all they get is water. One thing about PL's, they can flower year round. BTW, sometimes plants take time to bloom after repotting. It's a matter of adjusting to their new home. This is optional, but I spray leaves daily. It takes a few seconds..Once a week, my PL's are brought to the sink, leaves are showered. 'Not soil.' That's about it. The only other tidbit is..I clean out old milk containers, save water. When a plant is ready for a drink, I use the water from the milk container. Marie, I hope your plant does well, Toni

I agree with tisha: it does seem like kind of a big pot, considering that there are only about four individual plants in there. My instinct, which has been wrong before and which may be wrong now, would be to take it out of the pot, pull the pieces apart, shake off whatever soil and dead roots will shake off, and then repot the pieces together in the smallest pot that will hold them. (My guess from the picture is that it's in an 8" or 10" pot now; you should be able to fit the pieces that are still alive into a 5" or 6".) The leaves slowly dying a little bit at a time sounds to me like it's too wet, and I don't really see four plants going through that much water that quickly. It's not that you're watering too much -- drenching is good -- but I think you're probably watering too often. Which can be fixed. The light is probably fine. Fertilizer can cause dead tips and leaves, but if you're reading the directions and giving that amount or less when you feed, and letting water run through the pot when you water, that's probably not the problem. I doubt humidity is the issue either, though it can also cause dead tips. Let the plant tell you when it needs water. In a pot that size, the top couple inches can be dry while the bottom four are still wet, so you can't go by a schedule at all. Spathiphyllums that have gone too dry will collapse flat: that's too late. The right time to water is when the leaves go a little bit limp and floppy, where you can brush them with a hand and not feel much resistance. This is usually a few days before they go flat. In a large pot, it could be a long time between spells like this, depending on the time of year, amount of light, etc.