Help me nurse this peace lily back to health
May 5, 2020 5:20 PM Subscribe
I have come to be the guardian of this sickly peace lily. A lot of its leaves, both the newer and older ones, are substantially browned. I don't know much about plants, how would you recommend nursing this plant back to health and keeping it happy?
There is new growth at the centre which says that the plant is doing pretty well - truly sick plants don't waste their energy making more leaves. The brown bits will never unbrown - probably dried out at one point - if you cut them off the plant will look better.
Water sparingly, only when the soil is dry. Check by inserting a finger into the soil to the first knuckle. If you have an indoor plant fertiliser, apply that a few times a year. Neglect it, a little.
posted by chiquitita at 5:44 PM on May 5, 2020
Water sparingly, only when the soil is dry. Check by inserting a finger into the soil to the first knuckle. If you have an indoor plant fertiliser, apply that a few times a year. Neglect it, a little.
posted by chiquitita at 5:44 PM on May 5, 2020
Response by poster: For the leaves that are extremely browned (not just the edges/tips), is it better to remove the whole leaf, or just cut the brown parts off?
posted by ITheCosmos at 5:46 PM on May 5, 2020
posted by ITheCosmos at 5:46 PM on May 5, 2020
Keep it out of direct sunlight as it can burn their leaves. That may have been what happened to this one, as it looks pretty strong & healthy otherwise. I would remove badly browned leaves and just trim off the lightly damaged edges from the other leaves.
One of the great things about peace lilies is that they will tell you when they need to be watered by drooping dramatically, and then springing right back after being watered. They don't like to be watered too much and will rot if you water them too often.
If you live in a dry climate, they do enjoy having their leaves misted a few times a week. If you live somewhere humid it's not at all necessary.
If you have cats, keep them away from this plant. It's not fatally toxic like some other lilies but can cause mouth irritation and rarely upper respiratory issues.
posted by burntflowers at 6:09 PM on May 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
One of the great things about peace lilies is that they will tell you when they need to be watered by drooping dramatically, and then springing right back after being watered. They don't like to be watered too much and will rot if you water them too often.
If you live in a dry climate, they do enjoy having their leaves misted a few times a week. If you live somewhere humid it's not at all necessary.
If you have cats, keep them away from this plant. It's not fatally toxic like some other lilies but can cause mouth irritation and rarely upper respiratory issues.
posted by burntflowers at 6:09 PM on May 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
It functionally doesn’t matter much if you remove a whole leaf or cut the dead portion off, but in real terms the plant will generally prefer you only cut off the brown bits, that allows it to use the remaining resources how it sees fit.
If it were diseased it would be better to remove the whole leaf. But this plant is not diseased or really even unhappy.
It looks great and healthy; real plants have blemishes, just like real people.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:17 PM on May 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
If it were diseased it would be better to remove the whole leaf. But this plant is not diseased or really even unhappy.
It looks great and healthy; real plants have blemishes, just like real people.
posted by SaltySalticid at 6:17 PM on May 5, 2020 [2 favorites]
Your plant is fine. Nip off the dead leaves periodically, brown bits happen, and it's obvious when they wilt.
I've had one for thirteen years and I haven't killed it and I usually have no skills with plants. You should be fine.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:07 PM on May 5, 2020
I've had one for thirteen years and I haven't killed it and I usually have no skills with plants. You should be fine.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:07 PM on May 5, 2020
Peace lilies thrive on filtered water. Hard water is one of the most likely culprits for browning leaves on a peace lily. Thus, giving them standard unfiltered tap water is not sufficient; if you have a Brita filter/pitcher or a water filter in your fridge, always use that water to water your peace lily.
Peace lilies also need to be misted to protect their leaves from dust and pests. Fill a clean, empty spray bottle with (filtered!) water and set the spray nozzle to a fine mist setting. Mist the leaves in the evening when the peace lily won't be under much sunlight.
Source: I have two peace lilies that used to have browning leaves; after I started doing the above, the leaves became healthy.
posted by nightrecordings at 7:07 PM on May 5, 2020
Peace lilies also need to be misted to protect their leaves from dust and pests. Fill a clean, empty spray bottle with (filtered!) water and set the spray nozzle to a fine mist setting. Mist the leaves in the evening when the peace lily won't be under much sunlight.
Source: I have two peace lilies that used to have browning leaves; after I started doing the above, the leaves became healthy.
posted by nightrecordings at 7:07 PM on May 5, 2020
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posted by lollusc at 5:36 PM on May 5, 2020 [1 favorite]