Any chance it's chill injury?

Al

It looks just like it, doesnt it? But no. Thermostat is at 68.

This picture shows an unusual pattern of die-back. Here it goes into the main vein of the leaf

This post was edited by Lauraeli on Sun, Dec 21, 14 at 21:26

Apparently no one has any experience with this? I cut off all the bad parts, and Im going to spray it with my neem oil insecticidal and see what happens.

It just doesn't look fungal or even bacterial to me. If the stem isn't visibly involved, I'd even bet against it being fungal. While Neem oil does have some fungicidal properties, it's better suited to being used prophylactically. If it really is fungal, it's gone systemic, and you'll need something like tebuconazole as a fixative. I know you are against using it, but just trying to add some perspective.

No chance someone could have opened a window near the plant, or the plant was subjected to a sudden drop of several degrees in temperature. Shill injury can occur at temps as high as 50* if the temp change is rapid. Sorry if it seems like I'm stuck on chill injury - just wanting to be sure that can absolutely be eliminates as causal.

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a New Year so full of good things you'd be happy if 2016 was a repeat!

Al

Update- one week. Leaves have shown continued die-back from spots which were cut to remove the black spots. Also, new edges are turning black.

It is all in the older leaves. It is progressive, showing up on leaf edges, as well as anywhere the leaf has been damaged. None of the newer, light-green growth (all much smaller; why?) has shown signs of it yet. Soil has yet to dry out since being watered a week ago, so we can rule out under-watering. Humidity has been above 50 percent, so we can rule out dry air as well.

Thoughts?

Any chance something got dumped into the soil? Do you have a cat?

How long did it take from onset to what the pictures show? To me, it looks symptomatic of a sudden occurrence. Usually over/under-watering or an excessive level of dissolved solids in the soil show up as gradual necrosis in leaf tips or margins. Maybe your initial thinking that aerial blight is valid. As you eliminate other possibilities, it begins to look more and more like a good bet. I dunno.

Al

I am uncertain how long it took, the plant was out of the way for a few weeks with minimal care. I noticed it shortly after moving it into a brighter room, but didnt think much of it until the spots started to progress.

I dont have a cat. No reason to think anything was dumped in the soil. Black spots typically start out on leaf edges and progress inwards.

Plant was repotted into a bigger pot a couple months ago with miracle gro. Potting soil was old and clearly not sterile- it grew mushrooms. The plant is usually watered with distilled water. Im thinking soil salts should be fairly minimal.

It seems to have spread to an african violet that is in the room? :-(

Hi. I have been having the same problem with my peace lily and haven't been able to find any solution to this. May I ask, how is your lily and did you manage to stop the black leaves from spreading? I think the problem might be the soil, as, same as you, I repotted my plant in to a bigger pot a few months ago but the soil was old and might have been not sterile. I have been cutting the black leaves off, and used an anti-fungal spray on the lily but it didn't help much. It's blooming at the moment and the flower started turning black, too. Just overnight the black spots appeared all around its edges. The plant has been definitely not over/under watered and it's not been exposed to low temperatures or strong light. I have just repotted it back to the smaller pot (it has lost so many leaves that there's no point of having it in the bigger one), checked the roots but didn't see anything unusual. I bought a new, fresh potting mix this time to see if that could help. Would you have any other advice on what to do? I do hope your lily is fine.

?

I have the answer for you! Chlorine damage from using tap water. I’m not sure if this applies to your case but it seems like many other people are having a similar problem. Peace Lilly’s are very sensitive to chlorine. I brought mine into work to liven up the place and unfortunately without my knowledge, one of the other ladies here started to water it under the sink. The tapwater here is chlorinated and most likely has fluoride in it. When I first brought it in, the leaves were vibrant and beautiful but sadly declined very quickly after her watering. In my opinion, it looks exactly like yours now. I’ll include a photo below.

Hope this helps!!

A very old post, but still, the image provided in your offering is indicative of neither chlorine nor fluoride toxicity.

Al

Following as I'm having same problem. Why, Tapla, don't you think it's chlorine? I have always used tap water on my plant and I guess I've been lucky these last 9 months that I've had the plant? What could it be then? I did have a serious case of multiple leaves yellowing and dying maybe a month ago. Got rid of them and moved the plant to a better location. I wonder could that have left the plant vulnerable? I haven't many leaves on mine, so quite concerned.

Just found this thread as I was trying to understand what is happening to my peace lilies. I've had about 4 do this recently - all smallish plants divided from an old one in the spring, all had been doing fine until as couple of months ago. The leaves just get darker and then wilt, then later go crispy - very different to any watering issues I've experienced. The weather has got colder and the central heating is on but that's no different to any other year. In fact the one lily that's doing ok is the one that suits on the bathroom next to a window that's kept open every night, even in frosty weather, so I'm mystified!

It's definitely not a bacterial pathogen causing the spoiled foliage. I think the advice consisted of specifics where only generalities would be appropriate, and generalities where specifics would be most appropriate. Sorry to disagree.

Al

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a) ..............Twice you respond in riddles. Do you have a conclusion ?? If so, what is it ???

What might seem to you to sound like a riddle, would likely make more sense had the post above mine not been deleted. Too, that one doesn't know what it IS, doesn't mean one can't know what it ain't.

The destroyer of weeds, thistles and thorns is a benefactor, whether he soweth grain or not. ~ Robert Ingersoll

Chronic but not massive over-watering in PLs usually presents as necrotic leaf tips and margins. Under-watering to the degree it would cause so much damage would be accompanied by wilting, serious over-watering is often accompanied by wilting as well. If the plant hasn't wilted, it probably hasn't been seriously under-watered. A high level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil solution also normally presents as necrosis at leaf tips and margins. Toxicity levels of chloramide/ chloramine aren't common, and toxic levels of fluoride, accumulative in plant tissues, can be expected to first show as necrotic leaf tips on older foliage.

If we can rule out under/ over-watering in the extreme and any chance something phytotoxic made its way into the grow medium, it's likely Phytophthora sp., as the OP initially suspected.

This, is a riddle >> Whenever you choose to speak my name, I am no more. What am I?

Al