3

Several leaves of my Peace Lily are turning brown directly, or after first turning yellow. I'm pretty confident I'm watering it the right amount, but the hot weather started here in Madrid about 10 days ago, and I haven't humidified the leaves in the last few days. The problem started while I was humidifying it regularly, but it has worsened quickly since the weather got warmer. Should I humidify it every day? Would more than once a day be better? Is the humidity even that important, or could another issue be causing the problem?

It doesn't look like it needs to be repotted, and it's not receiving direct sunlight. Since my room is very hot, do I need to move it to a different room? I hope not, since it's where I spend my time working!

Also, some weeks ago I put some fertilizer in water and used that to water it 3 or 4 times in a row over a period of about 16 days. It was growing nicely, but then the problem started. Was that a bad idea? Could it be related to its present state?

How can I keep Peace Lily alive and growing?

I'm poor Lily, and I'm very ill... sniff...

Adding pics of roots in case there's anything wrong with them or the soil...

roots

roots bottom

Niall C.
  • 7,199
  • 11
  • 48
  • 77
Martin
  • 641
  • 2
  • 8
  • 16

1 Answers1

3

The symptoms could be fertilizer burn but we don't know the concentration you used. Here is an all purpose checklist

  • does the plant have drainage? Overwatering is the most common cause plants die. Even peace lilies that I have seen sitting in water for weeks...
  • take it out of the pot and look at the roots. Healthy roots are firm and white, dead roots are black and soft. What does your plant have? Can you see any soil at the base of the root ball? If it is ready to be repotted then you will only see roots.
  • just to be sure you have not over fertilized it give it one watering with distilled water and let it drain. Distilled water has no dissolved salts and will grab whatever it can as it flows through the root ball.
  • ensure the plant is in bright diffuse light. Hot direct sun is usually too much.

I see you have added some more pictures. From them I see that

  • the plant does not need re potting
  • it has not been over watered as the roots are firm and white
  • that leaves possible fertilizer burn as the source of the dead material on the leaves

I think you may have not understood what I meant by distilled water. Leaving water to sit for a few days does not distill it. Distilled water has had all dissolved minerals removed. It is often used for steam irons. Water it once with distilled water and this will lower the soluble salt levels that too much fertilizer may have caused.

You have asked if LED lights can be harmful. Where I live LED lights are cool to the touch and will not burn a leaf if they are too close. They will provide beneficial light to help the plant grow.

In regards to the dead parts of the leaves: if the whole leaf is dead then remove it at the base of the stalk. If just part of the leaf is dead cut that part off with a pair of scissors taking care to leave a rim of dead material. Do not make a new cut in living part of the leaf. This is to improve the look of the plant and will not help it but if you cut into the living part of the leaf you know have a new area that will dry out or die back. Just cut the dead tissue off.

kevinskio
  • 57,927
  • 9
  • 76
  • 157
  • It does have drainage. I'm pretty confident it is hasn't been over-watered. -From my point of view roots are ok, but I have never seen dead roots so I might not recognize them. Here is a pic: --uh? Can't I add pics here now? – Martin Jun 09 '15 at 17:55
  • I just added pic of the roots in the question. It seems I can't answer you, I can just comment. Regarding the third advice, I think I always "distill" the water; water in Madrid is good but it has some lime (?) so I leave the water in a bottle the night before or some days before watering the plant so that the -I think is- lime falls to the bottom. I was adviced to to so, but then I use the same bottle (sometimes I leave the water in the sprinkler) to water them so I'm not sure the "unwanted element" remains in the bottom... – Martin Jun 09 '15 at 18:13
  • It never receives direct light from the sun and out of fear (actually ignorance) I try not to use the lamps in my room (have several, most of them LED) close to it .. but I sometimes turn those on, is that bad? – Martin Jun 09 '15 at 18:23
  • 1
    I'll try the distilled water Kevinsky, thanks a lot. I also realized it might be too close to a low consumption light. It focus doesn't point to the plant but its heat (added to the temperature of the room per se) might affect it, and maybe even its "indirect" light. It is on just a couple of hours a day at most though... so it might not be enough to harm the plant, but who knows... From other forums I read this plant shouldn't be below 32 to 52 Fahrenheit degrees, is there a maximum of temperature that this plant can stand? – Martin Jun 10 '15 at 10:47
  • Also should I cut the leaves that are half brown? What about the big one on the left? – Martin Jun 10 '15 at 11:23