Peace Lily Deteriorating
Plant Parent
I have a Spathiphyllum that is constantly deteriorating for the last month or so. How can I solve the issue?
Darryl
1) How long have you had the plant?
2) Show me the overall space where this plant lives.
3) How do you determine WHEN to water?
4) Describe HOW you water.
5) What fertilizer (if any) do you use?
6) When was the last time you repotted?
Please let me know and I’ll do my best to help.
Plant Parent
1) Had plant less than a year.
2) I lives here:
3) The flower shop told me to water when leaves start to droop – worked great until last week.
4) Put pot under tap until water comes out bottom.
5/6) Has not been fertilized or repotted.
I have sprayed it with soapy water. Can’t see any bugs on it. I have cut off lots of dying leaves. In the past 2 weeks, it just started wilting with lots of leaves turning yellow.
Darryl
Thanks for the additional information. The main problem is poor light combined with lack of fertilization.
Poor light: the term “bright indirect light” is really poor guidance as to exactly where you should put your plant for best possible light. Once you measure light, you will see that the best place for a “bright indirect light” plant is ***right in front*** of your largest window AND only if the sun will shine directly on the plant for longer than 2-3 hours, then consider blocking it with a white sheer curtain. Any distance from a window is drastically lower light because indirect light intensity is correlated with the overall view of the sky. The topic of light is more complicated than simply sun vs no sun.
Lack of fertilization: after a few months, the nutrient in a pot of soil will be depleted unless fertilizer is added (usually added to your watering water). I use fertilizer every single time I water, all year-round. Indoor plants do not go through a true dormancy (as opposed to outdoor plants where they actually die back in winter).
More on fertilizer: https://www.houseplantjournal.
Going forward, you should cut off the dead leaves, start using fertilizer, and put the plant right in front of your largest window (again, block direct sun only if it will shine on the plant for LONGER than 2-3 hours). When your plant is receiving more light, you will notice it gets to the drooping sooner. Ideally, you should water before it droops dramatically since regular wilting may eventually lead to permanent root damage.
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