Ask the Expert: Peace Lily Help

Hello,
I received a peace lily from my grandmother recently. I repotted it into a slightly larger pot with potting soil, and have had it in medium light with weekly watering. This week, it looked pretty wilty, and also had yellowing of the flowers. I trimmed them off, and moved it to a lighter location. When I put my finger in the soil, it doesn’t seem overly dry or overly wet. Included is a photo of the poor plant. If anyone has advice, I would love to hear it!

Thanks!
Kami

Kami,

Your peace lily is under stress. Transplanting, water issues and light issues can all cause stress. Here is the kicker, it can take a few weeks for the damage to appear. As a result you may have corrected the problem before you knew you had a problem. From the picture I would say at one point it had a water issue. However, it also looks like you are getting new growth at the bottom – an indication that the stress issue may have been corrected.

When you re-potted the peace lily did you keep the plant at the same level? In other words you didn’t add soil to the top of the plant, you only closed the gap between the root-ball and the sides of the new pot. Covering the top of the root-ball can effect the surface roots of the plant. Lift the plant so that the top of the root-ball isn’t covered with add soil. I would also recommend reading our Caring for Peace Lily Tips.

All in all I think your peace lily will be fine. Just as it takes a few weeks for damage to show up, indication of recovery also takes a few weeks.

Ask the Expert:  I purchased a peace lily a little over a year ago. It turned yellow and I thought it was dead. I trimmed off all the leaves, but left the roots in the pot. I planted a new plant in the pot, and just figured the peace lily was dead. A few days ago I noticed that the peace lily is starting new growth. I removed the new plant I planted in the pot, and am going to see what happens. Could there be a reason the peace lily died off and now is starting to grow again? Obviously the roots were not dead, it’s as if it just went into hibernation for the winter. – Kevin

Kevin,

Your peace lily (Spathiphyllum clevelandii) was under some form of stress, either too much light or too much water. As a result, the plant seemed dead, but was actually in a mode of conservation – storing its resources to produce a new flush of growth. When you placed the new plant in the pot, it must have corrected the problems that caused the peace lily’s leaves to turn yellow. With the problem corrected, the peace lily was able to take it’s store energy to produce the new growth. Now that your plant is actively growing again, take a look at our Peace Lily Plant Care Tips. These tips will help you keep your peace lily healthy.

Ask the Expert: What sort of pot do I use for my Peace Lily?

I have a large beautiful Peace Lily which recently came from the florist in a too small basket. There is very little soil around the roots. I have been told that this plant grows better in a plastic pot. Is this true?

Ask the Expert: Why is my spath growing out? My spath is located 13 feet from my southeast window receiving medium light for about 2hours in the mornin, then low light the rest of the day. It’s growing by spreading and getting wider with new growth smaller than the older leaves. I’ve seen others in florists that grow up and out; mine is growing just out. What’s causing this? Or is this a species that grows this way?
Susi