Find Your Ask the Expert: Peace lily is drooping
My son repotted by year old peace lily. He never does what I ask, but always does what I do not ask:o) Anyway, he repotted the plant, and added fertilizer, which he has never had. Now, he droops, and is unresponsive to water. Since my husband and I were not home when the repotting experiment occured I have no idea how he repotted the plant. I know peace lilies like to be root bound, so I am fearful that he is not getting enough water. He is only wet at the top, and I do not notice water in the drain tray. Please help!! Tracie
Reply:
Give the boy “A” for effort. At least he is interested in plants. The first thing we need to check is the soil level of the plant. Can you tell if the original root ball top is still exposed? If not, simply lift the plant so that it is planted at the depth it was before. In most cases, when repotting you need to keep the plant at the same depth. In other words, do not pile soil on top of the existing rootball. Now if the soil is only moist on the top water it until a little water drains out of the bottom. The easiest way to determine the moisture level is to stick your finger in the soil. In this case you will need to go all the way to the hand knuckle. Once you get the soil level and moisture level set, give the plant a little time. It will take a couple of weeks for it to recover from the shock. Be sure to keep the soil moist but no soggy and look for new growth. If the plant is putting out new growth that is a sign that the plant will make a full recovery.
You are correct. Peace lilies don’t mind being root bound. If the new pot is more than 1 1/2″ times larger than the old pot, you might want to repot it into a slightly smaller one. The good thing about peace lilies is they are pretty resilient. Good luck and keep me posted.
Since your son is interested in the peace lily, he might want to read our peace lily plant care information. He will need to scroll down the page to find the information.
