Hi. I'm new here but I'm kind of frantically trying to figure out what to do to fix my peace lily. Here's the background... My mom bought me a gorgeous and HUGE peace lily about 2 weeks ago. I placed it in front of a window with a sheer curtain. I felt the soil every few days and watered it about once a week until I noticed standing water in the dish under the pot. Unfortunately I'm afraid it probably stood in the water for a couple of days before I noticed it. A day or two later it started drooping, BADLY. After a few attempts at a google diagnosis I repotted her (Veronica) in a mixture of 50% potting soil, 25% peat and 25% perlite. I also moved her from a 14" to a 16" pot. However things are just getting worse. I know that repotting her was somewhat of a shock but at this point she is so droopy that I'm worried all the stalks are going to break so I've wrapped a loose ribbon around the outside to try and give her a little support. Here is a picture of her in better days and a picture of her taken just a few minutes ago. Does anyone have any ideas when and if I might see a turn-around? Or what else I might be able to do to bring her back?
overwatered and then standing in it is not good. they like to be moist, not totally sogged out. also, i think the sunlight is too much. they don't need any kind of direct light to do well. does the new container have drainage? if not, get her into something that does. and let her dry out a bit. did you take a good look at the roots when you were repotting? if not, you might want to do that - and remove anything that is dark/mushy. she might have rotted roots which would answer for why she hasn't perked up with the repotting. or you may have overcompensated with too much water after repotting.
Thanks! I've scooted her away from the window some, I didn't realize that was possibly too much light. The pot she is in now had okay drainage but I had my husband drill a few more holes in the bottom just to be certain it was adequate. The condition of the roots when I repotted her was what really surprised me, they weren't mushy, dark or soft at all, they were actually really firm. And I've hardly watered her at all since repotting, only once with a large drinking glass full of water. I did mist her leaves a little though. I did just notice in these pictures that she is also right over an A/C vent. We haven't turned it on much yet but the hot southern summer is coming, will that be a problem (hoping she makes it that long...)?
Joclyn's suggestions are very good. In addition, make sure you have a fast draining soil. The majority of "house plant" soils hold too much water for this plant. You can modify it by mixing in Perlite, orchid potting medium including gravel, bark and charcoal, plus compost or peat. This is a rain forest species but not one that likes to have the roots wet. I've grown them in fairly bright light but they do just as well in dimmer light. Just don't allow it to go dry and fertilize it with a good liquid fertilizer every couple of weeks.
I was giving her a chance to dry out some after repotting her, so I've only watered her once with a drinking glass full of water since Saturday. Should I go ahead and give her a good drink this afternoon?
Your Spathiphyllum should only need a good drink about once a week in most cases. If it is hot or dry, then perhaps more. The general guidelines are to watch the leaves. Once you see them begin to droop just a bit the plant is telling you it is thirsty. I personally offer the plant a dilute fertilzer every couple of weeks along with their water. Mine have been producing spathes almost non-stop for years with that regimen.
the proximity to the a/c vent will definitely be an issue...they don't like to be chilly!! good to hear the roots are in good shape! it should be fine - just needs a little time to adjust to the new digs :)
Exactly what Joclyn said in the first post. Get the plant away from direct sunlight, hold back on the waterf or now, and make sure you use "potting soil". I had the same thing happen to me last year, and I ended up chopping it down completely, amazingly it came back right up after a couple of months and it the last 2 months, I have had 2 of those white stalk blooms.
Every grower is certainly welcome to develop their own methods of growing plants. However, Spathiphyllum is an aroid. And aroids do not do well in off the shelf potting soil. Studies by recognized botanical experts (and I do not consider myself one) always come to the conclusion aroids need fast draining soil. Off the shelf soils are designed to retain water so you don't have to water often. In the case of aroids, that is not a good thing to do to the plant. Mixes which cause the water to drain quickly while staying evenly damp have been proven best for years. And that requires amending the soil. I have personally been to the rain forests of Venezuela on 5 occasions, Mexico more than 100 times, Central America at least 30 times, Ecuador once, and numerous other rain forest regions of the world to observe plants in their natural environment. I worked for over 20 years as a professional photographer for many magazines and commercial clients to photograph tropical regions of the world. Spathiphyllum species grow on the fringes of the wet forest in areas that are drier. But they also can frequently be found along the banks of rivers and streams in near swamp conditions. You almost never find them in direct light, but it is common to find them in bright diffused light, some fairly bright. How? The soil in the rain forest is extremely porous because it is composed of dead and decaying vegetation. Piles of dead leaves and rotting trees turn back into soil. As a result, these plants grow in soil that is porous, not wet or soggy. Since it is an aroid they also have an unusual characteristic. The majority of aroids grow up in the trees! Not in soil. But this one is different and does commonly grow in the porous soil at the fringe of the canopy. Originating in Columbia, Central America, southern Mexico and other northern South American countries as far south as Peru (but limited to northern Brazil) and including the Caribbean island of Trinidad, the Spathiphyllum is one of the more commonly available plants sold in discount stores, nurseries and floral stores. The true species can also be found in the Pacific Ocean In the Philippines and Moluccas, New Guinea, Palau, New Britain, and Solomon Islands. As wild plants there are more than 100 species but a true species plant is a rare find since almost all available for purchase were created by hybridizers. And the hybridizers have purposely created specimens that will live in a home with little water and a great deal of abuse. One very interesting fact about these plants is that "flower" is not a "flower" at all! It is actually a modified leaf. Being an aroid, Spathiphyllum plants produce a spathe and spadix which is the primary characteristic of any aroid. If you examine the spathe closely you will see it is composed of the external "flower" and an internal central portion known as the spadix. The true flowers, which are near microscopic, form on the spadix. The purpose of the spathe is to protect the spadix and those tiny flowers. I am unsure why, but Bullseye has made it a practice of disagreeing with me and that is certainly his right. But please consider taking a look around my personal collection of aroids. I grow close to 300 species in a controlled rain forest. And they outgrow those grown by many others. That is an Anthurium veitchii (an aroid) on the upper left and it isn't even half grown. The majority of regulars on UBC who give advice try to learn from science as well as personal growing methods. However, if you wish to try other methods, certainly feel free. http://www.exoticrainforest.com/atriumentrancelarge.htm
I agree, potting soil is not the best medium to grow aroids in without ammendments. I would cut the plant back by about 2/3 to let it concentrate on root formation rather than leaf growth.
After looking at the second picture, if that plant was mine I, like "greenthumb7" said, would had cut all the leaves, and in a couple of months the plant will have normal leaves and maybe a spathe and a spadix.
So after about a week she has perked up some but lots of her leaves are turning yellow. However there is still new growth coming out of the center and it looks great. So I will cut her back a good deal and see how that goes. Thank you so much everyone for your suggestions. She is in a mix of potting soil, perlite and orchid potting mix. I read about that mix somewhere on here.
Sounds like your specimen will do just fine. As a result of my website I exchange mail with collectors from all over the world. One just made me aware of some information I had not previously read. This note came from a collector with whom I have exchanged mail for a very long time who lives west of Mexico City. He often posts on UBC and wanted me to know that this specimens can do well in the ground in soil that is different from rain forest soil. My personal experience has been that it does not enjoy really wet soil, at least the hybrid variations. I have no idea if the plants in his collection are hybrids or species but my guess would be they are species since he has some wonderful specimens in his garden of rare plants. At any rate, I thought all of you would enjoy reading and considering his mail, "my soil is clay, since we only have hardly three months of rain in the summer, the clay needs to be water every day, during the "cold" months, we water every other day. My relative humidity is only 25 to 30 %, When I shower in the mornings my hair is already dry before I finish drying myself out with a towel." Some of my recent research indicates some species plants often grow along the edges of rivers and streams in South America. However, there are many species along with hundreds of hybrid variations. The hybrids most of us grow appear to have been bred to need less water. But now you are aware of both ends of the spectrum so you can make up your own mind. As for hybrids, I still recommend moderate water.
One of the old editors of the IAS newsletter had a collection of 100's of Spathiphyllum species , he grew them all dunked in concrete ditches flooded with heated water .. this was in Ireland !! They love water , and grow well in mucky media . A large saucer of water at base of pot will help , or one of the self-watering type pots . Extra large pots also help as these large plants with lots of foliage have an enormous root system .
Thanks for that Mic! I am assuming you are talking only of species plants rather than hybrids? Almost all of us who have tried to grow the hybrids wet have met with less than favorable results. I have several in my tropical atrium and they never bloom due to the wet conditions even though all have survived for 7 years. But those are known to be hybrids rather than species. I found one of Dr. Croat's descriptions in an older IAS journal and he describes them as growing along river banks, so obviously your information is absolutely correct. But the only thing I can figure out why it does not appear to work with most hybrids is selective breeding to produce plants that can avoid abuse do not do well in wet conditions.
Steve I think Ron grew his plants that way to keep the tropical species warm cheaply in a far from tropical place .
You guys are awesome! I've had a peace lily sitting in my lounge room forever doing just so-so, hasn't bloomed for me once, and recently the boy has taken a turn for the worse. Now I realize why. I've got the poor thing in potting mix/coir peat. Time for a change of mix! I'm gonna treat it like an Honorary Orchid same as my anthuriums. EDIT: Holy....... I just repotted and within an hour he's looking the best he's ever been. Just sprung back to life. I used a mixture of fine orchid mix designed for cymbidiums/coir peat/charcoal/perlite. Also, last time I repotted him I didn't tease out his roots (he was my first plant and I was scared of touching roots back then), when I took him out of the new pot I found out that he hadn't grown into the new pot even slightly as he was still root bound to the pot I received him in. Poor little bugger must have been existing purely on love and the carbon monoxide from my smoking habit!
