Find Your Ask the Expert: Yellowing leaves
I have a large peace lily that has yellowing leaves, it gets misted once a week and gets early morning sun. I transplanted it last fall and it was doing well until recently. I water every 4th day. The entire plant is now looking very yellow and I’m afraid there is something else going on can you help?
Darryl,
If the inner leaves of the peace lily are yellow, too much water maybe the problem. Check the drain hole of your pot and make sure it has not become clogged. If the outer leaves are turning yellow, then too much light is the issue. Even morning sun, if focused directly on the leaves, can be harsh to the peace lily plant.
Has anything different occurred during the last few weeks. Could someone else be contributing to the watering of the peace lily? What kind of soil media did you use to re-pot the peace lily? Has the peace lily been sitting in water for any length of time? Rapid temperature changes can also cause problems. Is the plant under or in a direct air flow path from you heat and air vent? If so this could be the problem. Really hot temperatures are not good for peace lily plants.
I would trim off the yellow leaves and watch for new growth. If the new growth is fine then the problem has been corrected. In the mean time, water the peace lily only when the soil about two inches deep is dry. Make sure your water is tepid when you water your plant. Water that is too hot or cold can cause stress in the plant. Make sure that light from any source is not beating down directly on the peace lily.
It might not hurt to read our Peace Lily Plant Care Page.
My peace lily got too much sunlight, and the leaves are burnt. They leaves have lost their shape and hangs down. What can I do? Can I cut those leaves off?
Sharon,
Cut the damaged leaves off and make sure the peace lily is moist. Back it away from the light source and it should make a full recovery.
I have two peace lilies one seems to be doing ok. The other bigger one is turning yellow and my new growth is wilting. Also last week I pulled a peice of the plant off. It was brownish black, not ot mention it came off very easy. Could this be root rot? I water them once every 10 -14 days. By the way is it okay to cut off the yellowing leaves or is it better to them completely die out and then remove them?
Please help, in a competition with my boyfriend to see who can grow them best and longer.
Latrice,
It is a good idea to cut the yellow leaves off. It sounds like you might have a stem rot problem. When you water the plant you want to water the soil and not the leaves. Water that pools in the center of the plant and remains for a while can cause a rotting problem. Check to make sure you plant doesn’t have water pooling in the foliage. Also check for any soft black spots on the leaves and cut them off. Also, check for insects at the same time. If you see insect in the soil or if you have a lot of soft black spots, you might need to re-pot the peace lily removing as much of the damage plant as possible.
I have a Peace Lilly and the flowers are turning green – any reason why? what should I do? There is a new flower blooming that’s white…the others were there and white when I bought it. Thanks!
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If the spathes that are turning green are the oldest ones, it is the natural process. The spathes are at the end of their life cycle.
I have a Benjamin ficus and all her leaves have fallen. I repotted and it’s been 2 months and still no leaves. Is there anything I can do to help her grow leaves? I most every day and water once a week.
Thanks
Leaf drop after replanting is common. The best thing for you to do is to recreate the environment your plant was in prior to replanting. Make sure the soil is draining well, and only water when the top of the soil becomes dry. Make sure your fiscus is getting plenty of light, as they love the sun.