Peace Lily

[WolfBard]

This is so horrible. But my mom gave me a peace lily some months ago. It was lovely when she gave it to me, but it died a slow, horrible death. It was for my bathroom specifically because of an article she had read. The peace lily went by a window and had a decent amount of light although not blazing direct sunlight. It was watered regularly. I cut dead leaves off as we went until it was left with one big leaf. That just died a few days ago.

I noticed some tiny little silver bugs in the soil, although not on the plant itself. What are they and are they significant in the death of my poor plant?

I would love to try again, but I am the sort who feels guilty about plants dieing young like this. I cannot figure out what I did wrong. Any thoughts?

[Newt]

I'm tbinking your statement " It was watered regularly." is probably what happened. Most folks tend to overwater their houseplants and end up killing them with kindness. I have two peacelilies, one is about 20 years old and the other about 10 years old. I usually water them when they start to wilt! Peacelilies like to dry out a bit between waterings. I suspect the critters in the soil were from dampness. Of course you should try again. Just water when the top inch or two of soil is dry. Stick you finger in to the soil up to the first or second knuckle. Don't let it sit in water for more then 15 minutes or so. Pece lilies don't need direct sun and will be happy in a bright spot. You should find this site helpful.
https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/interiorscape/Spathiphyllum.html
https://www.ourgardengang.com/containerpotting.htm

Newt

[WolfBard]

Oh, I only watered them when the soil was dried. My mom thinks it was a lack of light since even by the window there isn't a lot of sun coming through. We have a problem outside under that window where moss gross on the siding. My mom's peace lily is doing wonderfully, it's big and blooms constantly, but she's got a lot of light coming through her window.

I think I am going to either aim for something that requires very little light or just keep them in the living room window from now on. I'm usually pretty good at reviving almost dead plants, but I failed this time (My dad had a bamboo he treated very badly so I took it away from him. By then it had no leaves and was browning out. I brought it back to where it actually won a ribbon at the State Fair one year).

[farmergirl]

There are tiny bugs (forget what they're called) that live in the soil and feed off the plant's roots - you can buy a pesticide powder to kill them. I lost a fig tree to them before I realized what was going on.