This peace lily was given to me for my Dad’s funeral 12 years ago. So it has lived that long and if there is any way to save it, I need to make that...
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Did I kill it!? #861306
Asked March 13, 2024, 9:51 AM EDT
This peace lily was given to me for my Dad’s funeral 12 years ago. So it has lived that long and if there is any way to save it, I need to make that happen.
First of all, I admit that I haven’t always been great with watering and probably only do so 2x a month. However, as aforementioned, it had been happy until Saturday. When it started to look droopy so watered it. The first image—in the sun—is what it looked like Sunday. Obviously not a happy plant. The thought was that I had perhaps drowned it, which didn't make a whole lot of sense as it was a pot that drained well. I poured out all the water in the water reservoir and waited two days in hopes that it was too wet and would dry out. When it did not look any better, I decided the only thing I hadn’t tried was repotting it. It had been on my list of to-do’s anyhow. The pot was clearly too small and I knew I needed to do that, anyhow.
I bought a bigger pot, but had not looked at the size the current one was and tried to compare. I thought my pot had been bigger than it was. I purchased a 12 and the pot it was in turned out to only be an 8. My Mom said the pot should only be a little bigger, but It was too late to return it: The store was closed. I decided to do the switch anyhow, and I am glad I did. When I got the plant out of the 8’ the soil was so wet the plant was dripping water. So I put the plant in the new, perhaps too big pot. Please help me save my plant. What does it need? (I did not put water in the soil and did not water once it was in the pot. I didn’t think it made any sense, as the plant was already too wet).
(The first pic, taken after dark was Monday, the one in the sunlight was yesterday and the last pic with the new pot and on the dining room table was taken today.
It is easy to get fooled and water too much even when you have been doing the right things for your plant for years. One reason is potting medium can break down and change in texture. Temperature can also affect how much water your plant needs. I bought an in expensive moisture meter on Amazon (14.00). It has been very helpful and many very experienced plant people use them. Keep your plant moist but not wet. Rather than watering once a week check moisture levels 2 times per week and only water as needed. A too large pot makes over watering easier so continue to use caution. Looking at your plant it should recover. Don’t fertilize it, water when the soil is damp and be patient. Be very patient, it will probably take until the end of summer for it to start growing again. Anyone who has indoor plants has had your experience at least once. I have had over 100 house plants at times. I always have at least 20 and I have certainly been fooled a few times.Take heart and good luck.
Thank you for your answer. I am wondering what I need to do to keep it alive? I didn't water the soil when I repotted it, I thought it would be the opposite of helpful.
However, should I water it now? How do I help it? It still looks much the same as it did on Sunday. What do I do? Do I need to cut off a few leaves? Report it again in a smaller pot? I would greatly appreciate the help
You should water it and follow the instructions in the fact sheets on how to care for your plant. I know it’s hard but you just have to wait for the plant to grow new roots and recover from some root rot and transplanting. Putting it in fresh soil was a good idea because soil that is too wet would continue to contribute to root rot. A moisture meter is inexpensive and very handy for taking the guess work out of watering. The are about 14.00 on Amazon or a garden center. Peace lilies need consistently moist soil, but they definitely don’t like to sit in standing water. Whenever the top inch of soil is dry, water the plant until the overflow starts to come out of the bottom of the container. Wait until it stops draining, then set the pot back in its saucer.
Hi again, I hope you don't mind my questions. My peacelily actually looks worse. Should I cut off all the yellow leaves? I am completely lost right now. Should it be getting sunlight like before, when it was flourishing? I have purchased the meter and am excited about that. This plant MUST live, so whatever that means I need to do is fine with me. Are you expecting all the leaves to die and the plant will grow new ones? Can I make a cut from it to grow another one? Thank you for answering my questions!
I am sorry your plant is really struggling. It will take weeks for it to recover from root rot. To help your plant very careful watering will be very important. I would try for moist soil not wet soil. It can be propagated from divisions but doing so will damage the roots further, so I don’t recommend it right now. Don’t fertilize it. It needs to put all its energy into making new roots and none into growing bigger. The only leaves I would trim right now are those that are completely yellow. Any with green color are photosynthesizing and feeding the plant. https://www.pennington.com/all-products/fertilizer/resources/how-to-grow-and-care-for-a-peace-lily#:~:text=As%20with%20snake%20plants%2C%20simple,you'd%20plant%20small%20plants.
Good morning, I have a couple more questions about my peace lily. I have attached photos of what it looked like when I originally asked for help and what it looks like now. I think it is showing some improvement.
Obviously, the most important thing is water or so it seems. I did buy a soil tester and feel like it makes things as clear as mud. It does tell me about liquid in the pot; however, the top1/2 of the soil shows dry and the lower part shows that it is wet. Does that mean it should be watered or that it has enough liquid already. The pot does have the hole in the bottom and a saucer below it to catch extra water.
The second question is related to these annoying fruit fly looking things that have suddenly been a pain. We couldn’t figure it out, until I went to water the peace lily the other day and I found that they are coming from the peace lily plant. I recall the same thing happening to a previous plant and I cannot recall how I got rid of them. But I think it required removing the top layers of soil and replacing it with new soil…However, the plant is still recovering from root rot and repotting, I do not know how to address the issue, especially with the current fragility of the plant. What do you suggest I do? Thank you for any thoughts or suggestions you give me.
Dear Angie, here's the response to your question:
I am sorry your plant is really struggling. It will take weeks for it to recover from root rot. To help your plant very careful watering will be very important. I would try for moist soil not wet soil. It can be propagated from divisions but doing so will damage the roots further, so I don’t recommend it right now. Don’t fertilize it. It needs to put all its energy into making new roots and none into growing bigger. The only leaves I would trim right now are those that are completely yellow. Any with green color are photosynthesizing and feeding the plant.
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Evelyn Locke, MN Master Gardener, Tree Care Advisor, Volunteer
https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden
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Dear Angie, here's the response to your question:
I am sorry your plant is really struggling. It will take weeks for it to recover from root rot. To help your plant very careful watering will be very important. I would try for moist soil not wet soil. It can be propagated from divisions but doing so will damage the roots further, so I don’t recommend it right now. Don’t fertilize it. It needs to put all its energy into making new roots and none into growing bigger. The only leaves I would trim right now are those that are completely yellow. Any with green color are photosynthesizing and feeding the plant.
Need to reply to the expert? Click the link below, or simply reply to this email.
Click here to view #0131229
Evelyn Locke, MN Master Gardener, Tree Care Advisor, Volunteer
https://extension.umn.edu/yard-and-garden
We hope this response has sufficiently answered your questions. If not, please do not send another email. Instead, reply to this email or login to your account for a complete archive of all your support requests and responses.
The tiny flies are fungus gnats and they thrive in damp conditions. Drying out the soil will gradually control the gnats by making the soil an undesirable place to live. An organic pesticide called BT can kill the larvae so no new ones are produced. Sevin will kill the larvae and flies. Since your plant is a houseplant using it won’t hurt bees. Water your plants when the meter shows it is almost dry at the level of the roots in the pot. The surface will dry out but don’t let it get completely dry where the roots are. Your plant is going to look sickly until it makes new leaves. It needs the leaves it has for photosynthesis so only cut off ones that are all yellow. Your plant doesn’t look healthy but it doesn’t look like near death either. It should look better by August. Remember too little water and too much water make a plant wilt. In one case the roots are rotten and don’t take up water and in the other there isn’t enough water. Tricky, I know, and every gardener gets fooled sometimes more than once.
I am sorry for all of my questions, I am grateful that you have been able to help. My hubby mentioned Hydrogen Peroxide as being one possible solution he found on the internet. When he mentioned it, I suddenly recalled that I had used hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the same bugs years ago. I remember it worked very well and hadn’t been detrimental to the plant.
I began to pour some on the soil and realized it was not a solution you had mentioned, so maybe it is bad for my recovering plant? Therefore, it seemed prudent to ask before I blindly use something that may be harmful to the plant. Can hydrogen peroxide be safely used to get rid of fungus gnats in my plant? Thank you for helping me save my plant. You have been amazing in helping both my plant and myself!
What are your thoughts on using Hydrogen Peroxide to get rid of the fungal gnats?
Hydrogen peroxide does work but it is very harsh and your plant is already stressed. Proper watering and not over watering will get rid of fungus gnats. Bacillus thurengiensis kills them without hurting your plant. While hydrogen peroxide may be effective for fungus gnats, there are less toxic products. . Bt is one. Also consider that fungus gnats are harmless and only annoying. Look here: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/fungus-gnats-indoor-plants
Hydrogen peroxide is a strong oxidizing agent and will kill a lot of organisms. In fact, it is used as a sanitizing agent (although bleach is cheaper). So if you use it, do so cautiously.
The formula for hydrogen peroxide is one part 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to four parts water. but I strongly recommend being patient and watering correctly.
Hi again, the peace lily continues to recover; however, the gnats won't go away. I have gone 3 weeks without watering it and the soil is as completely dry as my container outdoor flower plants outside in all day summer heat. I also tried using hydrogen peroxide and then pest killer and I am out of ideas. The gnats are still a huge issue, we have gone through 3 of the Zevo bluelight sticky liners and everytime we have had to change the sticky part, it has been covered in the gnats. They are all over our house and driving us crazy. There was a time years ago now that one of my household plants had the same issue and the only thing that worked was dumping the soil and repotting the plant. I would have done it already, but it is just starting to look lively again. Could I just remove the top 2 inches of soil and replace it with new soil? How far down are the larvae? Thank you for your help
There is Sevin spray for houseplants. It is harmless to humans. Happily your plant is recovering so keep giving it tender loving care and it will still need some water. I would wait to repot it until it is looking healthy and putting on new growth. Scraping off the top soil will also disturb the new roots. https://www.patchplants.com/gb/en/read/plant-care/complete-guide-to-peace-lily-care/
Bt as recommended in a previous answer and I highly recommend it if you don’t want to use Sevin. Bt is not a chemical.
I have now thoroughly saturated the plant with the Sevin insect killer, from the top layer of dirt to the top of the leaves 4 times and there is just as many as b4. I am seriously struggling with these annoying little gnats. The plant is currently on time out in the garage because if its in the house, we all go crazy. And we dont want it to get outside pests. I am at a complete loss and have no clue how to get rid of them. Any other ideas on how to get rid of them? I feel like, at this point, my best option is to get the top couple layers of dirt out of the pot and put down new soil. I don't want to hurt the plant which I think Ive emphasized numerous times. And I know you mentioned it would not like to have top soul removed, but what other options are there?
And one quick question about indoor plants. Can I use potting soil for indoor plants or only outdoor plants?
Thank you for your help!!
Angie
IF YOU SPEND TOO MUCH TIME WORRYING ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN, YOU'LL MISS THE JOY OF WHAT ACTUALLY IS.
Potting soil is for houseplants. I suggest trying Bt to kill the larvae. Since there have been so many gnats could they be coming from some other source as well? This article is also about a greenhouse setting but it is comprehensive. Keeping your plant out of the house until the gnats are gone is a good idea because over applying an insecticide can harm a plant. Be sure to follow the label. https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7448.html
