Find Your Ask the Expert: Help! My peace lily’s leaves are wilting!! I’ve had a peace lily for about a month. It was growing beautifully and sprouting a white flower. Last week I noticed that all the leaves were slumped over and sagging, no longer straight up and stretched. What can I do? Should I put a stick in the soil and hold up the leaves. Repot the plant? Please help! Trina
What’s Up With My Wilting Peace Lily?
June 16, 2008 by
Trina,
Watering issues are usually the cause of peace lily wilt. It can often be a result of over watering or under watering.
How often are you watering? Does your pot have a drain hole? You want the excess water to drain from the pot and not pool around the roots. Water pooled around the roots can cause root rot which will cause the plant to wilt and die. To see if you have rooting roots remove it from the pot. Cut off any decaying roots and place back in the pot. If the roots aren’t decaying but seem to be root bound then the plant isn’t able to take in enough water and thus the plant will wilt. In this case the plant will need to be repotted. If the roots look fine and the soil isn’t soggy then it maybe a case of needs more water. Also you may need to create more humidity around the plant. This can be by misting the plant every couples of days.
If the plant is in a window and receiving a lot of light, you might want to more is away from the light slightly. Caring for Peace Lillies is not too difficult as long as you keep the plant moist but not soggy.
my huge moon flower has justdrooped at once,it haqd new growth after the draught, now it is turning yellowCould it be the spray killer sprayed on my house to get rid of hornets could have leaked down on the ground and is killing it
Rita, please post a picture of your plant and we can better diagnose it. Often times it only takes a little bit of of the wrong chemicals around plants to cause a lot of damage. The only thing you can really do is remove damaged leaves and give it a good rinse with water. With proper care, hopefully it will bounce back.
I have had my peace lily for a little over 2 years and until a month ago it lookd great now the leafs are wilting and not sure how to save it. It has holes in bottom of pot to drain excess water. I water once a week. If anyone has advice and can help me save it it would be greatly appreciated!
Miranda,
If you don’t see any signs of insect damage, I would say the plant may need to be repotted. If this is the cases, you will see roots coming out of the top of the plant and trying to come out the drain holes. Repot the plant into a container 1 1/2 times the size of its current container. When you repot it make sure not the plant it too deep. The top of the soil (rootball) should look the same in the new pot. In other words don’t place a lot of extra soil on top – simply fill in around the sides. Hope this information is helpful.
I recently purchased my Peace Lily. I am not sure what’s happening. Please help. I pruned the yellow leaves, watered it and spritz the leaves. Hoping this will work. Any suggestions ??? The leaves are droopy, the flowers are turning green, the flowers are folding in. They look sad.
Thank you
Niyea,
The plant may not have been water just right before you got the plant. Make sure the plant is moist but not soggy then wait and see if the new growth looks healthy. If it does then the plant should be fine.
I have a Peace Lilly I got last month. I watered it as it was dry coming from the florist after watering the leaves turned yellow and were limp. I put the plant in a new pot being sure that was the problem. UHHHHHHHHH NOPE, I don’t know what else to do. This has all happened over about 3 weeks. I have 2 other PL and they do fine I have had them since Jan.
Hi Tamechia,
There are several reasons why your plant has yellow leaves. Wilting usually does occur because of a watering issue, however other environmental factors sometimes cause problems. Let’s address the most common environmental issue – exposure to extreme temperature changes. Is this peace lily exposed to breezes from an outside door or directly under an air vent? Temperature changes can cause issues like the one you are experiencing. If this is the case, move the plant out of the airflow and it should recover. Also, check your container and make sure it has drain holes. If the plant has been soggy for sometime it may have root rot. If the root rot is minor, you can repot and the plant will recover. You might want to read the article, Brown is a Good Color For Chocolates but not Peace Lilies article. It has some information that will help you. Hopefully you can save your peace lily.
I noticed there have been quite a lot of bugs around the pot and on some leaves on my peace lily. My friend advised that I use some white oil spray to get rid of the bugs. A couple of hours later I noticed the leaves had drooped and were wilty. I quickly wiped down the leaves but I’m not sure it’s too late.
A day or two days later it seemed to have recovered but it has drooped again. It’s looking a lot worse 5 days later. I have watered it as the soil was dry but I’m not sure if there’s anything else I can do. There are drain holes in the spot and there doesn’t seem to be any issue with water draining through. Some of the leaves have large yellow spots and others are brown and soft.
Can I save my plant? Please help…
Angie,
My first suggestion would be to check the roots and make sure they have not rotted. Also create a humid environment around the plant by misting the air around it with lukewarm water every day or every other day. Also remove any of the yellow or brown leaves. Make sure the plant is receiving light. However, the light source should not be beaming directly on to the plant. Once you get the plant settled with the right conditions it should make a full recovery! Hope this helps!
my sister in law, has no green thumb, she put raw miracle grow on her peace Lilly, and it burnt!!!
How do i bring it back to life?
she is out of town for a week, so I went and got it, sprayed it down to get all the old dirt off it, and put it in a solo cut with the end cut off, so it could be in fresh soil and drain good.
Kristina,
You will need to flush the soil with clean, distilled water to dilute the fertilizer in the soil. It is going to experience shock from the over-fertilization, as well as being transplanted. Make sure you replant it in a well-draining pot. Peace lilies are pretty tough, so it may make a comeback. You will just have to watch it and try to get a regular care routine established for the plant.
Thanks, I did put it in new soil. Will wait to see what happens.
Had my peace lily for 7 months now. Woke up this morning to find all the plant laying over limp. Water once a week. It’s been doing great blooming and growing. Until this morning. Help please. I don’t want to lose it. I’ve had it since my mom passed
Pat,
It sounds like a possible watering issue. Make sure your pot is draining well and that your plant is not root bound. If you can see roots sticking out of the drain holes, then it may be time to repot. If your pot has not been draining well, lift your plant from the post and check for root rot. Both of these can cause the plant not to get enough water and wilt.
Hello,
I have a peace lily that is relatively healthy. I have it in a ceramic pot and even though I water it, it still droops. It doesn’t have any brown or yellow leaves. However, I did notice that a root is hanging out of the drainage hole and there is a small crack in the bottom of the pot. Does this mean to repot it in a bigger pot and if so how much should I go up in pot size? Thank you for your help.
Thanks,
Jessica
Jessica,
It sounds like it is time to repot. You want to get a pot that is 1 to 2 inches bigger in diameter than the one it is currently in.
I have a peace lily which has been doing well for years but I went away for 5 weeks and it was not watered. When I came back the leaves and flowers have gone brown and I cut it to the root. The root is also brown but I can see some green inside. What should I do now? joanne
Hi Joanne!
If there is still green left in the root, there’s a chance for saving it. Try removing the plant from the pot and cutting away all the brown root parts. Once that’s done, replant it back into the pot and make sure the soil is moist, but not soggy. You can find out more here. Hope this helps!