Newbie needs help with Peace Lily Please

[TurnipFarmer]

I have a couple of problems with my Peace Lily very recently. The leaves are going brown and discolouring and I cant stop them doing it. I found loads of excess water in the ceramic pot holding the pot that the plant is in which I did not know it was there. The plant spruced up but seems to be suffering again. The soil feels moist all the time since removing the excess water and not even watering it but still but plant seems to be still loosing leaves. When I removed the excess water, the roots had grown right out of the bottom of the plastic drainage pot is this normal or does my plant need repotting now to encourage growth? If so is it true these plants prefer to be pot bound slightly and only move up one size pot.

I am not a expert, just a newbie in plants so any help is grea cheers guys.

Oh by the way my plant it about 4 years old. I will try and post some photos shortly to make it clearer what I am trying to describe.

[rainbowgardener]

Definitely sounds like pot bound, needs to be repotted, and overwatered.

Pot it up a size or two and leave off the outer pot. Just put the new pot in a saucer and don't leave water standing in the saucer. You want the soil to dry out some between waterings.

Do you fertilize it?

[TurnipFarmer]

thanks for getting back quickly

I have only very recently fertilized it in the last two weeks. It has never flowered since I have got it.

[TurnipFarmer]

can I use catus soil for repotting? I have alot left over from another plant and it says that its good for free draining and has 50/50 mix of peat,

anygood?

[Sage Hermit]

root rot - repot asap

[TurnipFarmer]

once repotted will it be ok?

Also will catus compust be ok to use?

[rainbowgardener]

How ok it will be, depends on how damaged it got. But its chances will definitely be a lot better!

Do you have any regular potting soil you could mix the cactus stuff with? Cactus likes to be really dry. So you could go from drowning your plant to whatever the opposite of drowning is, totally drying it out. If you could do a 50-50 mix of of the cactus and some regular potting soil, it might be perfect for your plant.

[Sage Hermit]

Figure out what temperature it thrives at. Set to that temperature.

When your container and soil are ready for transplant figure out what moisture level it thrives at. Transplant into that mix and keep that mix slightly below the optimal moisture level.

Figure out what light it gets. (Partial shade) Set your light around there. If you have full sun blasting it set up a window screen they work so well.

Get a fan on that plant and mist her leaves. Turn off the fan after an hour or two.

It will be ok don't worry.

[TurnipFarmer]

right, give everybody an update. I removed the plant from its old pot (it did loose its excess roots that were growing out of the pot, hope thats not a problem??) and most of the roots looked ok round the rootball but there seemed to be loads of them so I think it was pot bound but some of the smaller roots were quite dark brown and bit damp.

I removed quite a bit of the old soil from the rootball. I then put about 3 cm of fresh soil in new pot (pot is 3 cm bigger than old) and placed rootball on top of it. I then filled in the sides with a mix of catus and normal potting compost. I then cut off the discolouring (yellow) and brown leaves from plant and put back where it normally lives.

Should I now just leave it and see how it gets on or is there anything else I can or should have done?

The plant looks a little dejected at the moment as it was a quite a big plant and now after cutting off most of the leaves, there is not much there now

[TurnipFarmer]

oh also the original compost was quite moist even though I removed the excess water that was in the bottom of the ceramic pot about 2 weeks ago, it seems to takes ages for the soil to dry out.

Hopefully now the soil will dry out quicker with the new pot and new mix of old and new soil? or do I need to water it? Is that plant has really drooped since repotting

[rainbowgardener]

Well the plant has been really stressed. Roots that are brown, especially if they are a little bit mushy, have been affected by root rot which is a fungal condition that occurs in situations of over-watering. Those roots are dead. So the plant lost roots to root rot and to being broken off in transplanting and it lost a lot of leaf surface and it is transplant shocked.

You just need to let it rest and recover for awhile. That means don't fertilize it. Don't water until the top inch or so of the soil has dried out and then be very careful not to over water (but don't let it totally dry out either). Keep in it indirect light. If not too much of the roots were affected it may come back.

Here's little article about root rot and its treatment:

https://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/p141rootrot-houseplants.html

[TurnipFarmer]

Well its been a few days but the plant has not picked up, still looks droopy and sad. Some of the leaves are still turning yellow/brown. I have not watered it yet, should I?

Am I just being impatient and let the plant recover? Is there anything I can do apart from still cutting off the leaves that are turning yellow/brown and keep an eye on the soil?

There are some new leaves growing, about three of them which is a good sign but thesewere growning before I repoted it.

[rainbowgardener]

Well its been a few days but the plant has not picked up, still looks droopy and sad. Some of the leaves are still turning yellow/brown. I have not watered it yet, should I?

Am I just being impatient and let the plant recover? Is there anything I can do apart from still cutting off the leaves that are turning yellow/brown and keep an eye on the soil?

There are some new leaves growing, about three of them which is a good sign but these were growing before I repotted it.

Haven't watered it yet, should I? The answer, as noted previously, is it depends on the soil. " Don't water until the top inch or so of the soil has dried out" Take a toothpick and stick it almost all the way down in the soil and leave it for a few minutes. If it is darker when you pull it out = damp, don't water. If all of the toothpick stays dry, water.

Yes be patient. You nearly killed your plant leaving it in standing water all the time. It is going to take some time to recover. New leaves coming is good.

[TurnipFarmer]

Another update everybody. The plant is still looking droopy and a little sad.

I am still having to cut off the dead leaves its still loosing, just to double check that this is the correct procedure? I am a little concerned that if I keep cutting the leaves off I am not going to have any left.

The top 1/2 to 1 inch soil is almost dry now, Il prob give it a couple more days before I water it, the bottom of the soil is still damp by telling from the stick in the soil.

When I do water it how much water should I water it, a little or quite a bit?

[rainbowgardener]

Right about continuing to let it dry out a little more. What has it been three weeks since it's been watered? That is not good soil, it is holding water way too long. At some point you might want to get some potting soil for cacti and mix a little of it in, so that your soil will drain better.

When you do water it, water it thoroughly until water is coming out the drain holes. Then empty the saucer, DON"T leave any standing water. Then leave it alone until it dries out again.

Can't give you any guarantees your plant is going to make it; by the time you discovered all that water in there, it may have been too damaged. But you are now doing the best you can for it.

[Kisal]

If some of the roots rotted, then you will also lose some of the top growth. You might also lose some top growth due to the roots that were torn/broken off when the plant was removed from its old pot.

Although it may be just my own opinion, I don't think any plant suffering from root rot should be repotted into a larger pot. All that will do is surround the roots with a greater volume of soil, which would take longer to drain properly. That will just contribute to more root rot.

What kind of soil did you use when you repotted? Cactus mix is on the alkaline side and usually doesn't have much in the way of organic content. It wouldn't be appropriate for your plant, which prefers a rich soil, either neutral or mildly acidic.

All in all, there must be healthy roots to support the top growth. Root rot does not automatically stop just because the plant is repotted. As RG mentioned, it's a fungal infection, and it may continue to progress. This is especially true if the pot size is too large, the soil fails to drain quickly enough, or the pot is replaced in its saucer or tray before all excess water has drained off. A plant can survive root rot, but it usually takes quite awhile for the new roots to grow. In the meantime, there will definitely be a loss of top growth.

[TurnipFarmer]

hey guys

thanks for all your help

Just check the soil and it is dry, going to water it in a min.

It still has alot of dead leaves on although one half the plant looks ok (fingers crossed), should I still continue to keep cutting dead leaves off?

The soil I used was a 50/50 mix of normal potting soil and catus soil for good drainage.

[TurnipFarmer]

just watered it and it was soaking up well quick, took on quite a bit of water until it came out of the bottom into the saucer. The plant looks a but lop sided due to the fact that I have cut most of leaves off on one side.

[rainbowgardener]

Be sure and empty the water out of the saucer.

If the problem is cured, the plant will eventually grow back and can be reshaped later.

Just let it rest and recover for awhile!