Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
webuser_22244629

Droopy Peace Lily!

Jasmine
3 years ago

Hello!


I've had this Peace Lily for about a year now. It's been healthy and happy. I noticed that the ends of its leaves were really brown and dried out, but otherwise healthy. So I repotted it to see if the leaf-damage would stop. Now, all of the stems are droopy, but the leaves are not withering. I tried watering it to see if the "droopiness" would improve, but I actually started seeing yellow leaves as though it was being over-watered AND it's still droopy.





Any advice on how to make him happy again?!


Thanks!

Comment (1)

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    3 years ago

    If plant in an established planting wilt while you can still detect moisture in the medium, it's a near certainty you're over-watering. When your plant developed necrotic leaf tips, it was trying to tell you you're over-watering, which means it actually isn't healthy. Plants need an ample volume of oxygen in the root zone if normal root function is expected/ No oxygen means there will be an inability to burn the plant's food (sugar/carbohydrates, which it makes during the process of photosynthesis) to obtain the energy needed for normal root function. When your plant wilts while roots drown in a sea of plenty, it will often perk up during the evening and night. This is because tiny vents in the leaf surface (stomata) are closed, which slows water loss from foliage and helps the plant maintain a higher internal water pressure (turgidity) than it's capable of during the light cycle when stomata are open.

    The best way to deal with an over-watered/ over-potted plant is to change the soil to something that can't be over-watered unless the grower absolutely cannot resist over-watering. With the right soil, over-watering almost has to be done on purpose. If that isn't something you wish to pursue, the next best way is to use ballast to limit the amount of excess water a planting can hold. Ask if you have interest in remedying this severely limiting situation. You might also want to consider using a 'tell' to 'tell' you when it's time to water.

    Using a 'tell'

    Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most
    common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small
    effort. Plants make and store their own energy source –
    photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to
    drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use
    oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that
    terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root
    function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough
    air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy
    plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids
    (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water –
    so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma.
    It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be
    to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to
    beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of
    accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant
    being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to
    prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a
    course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we
    water a very important factor.

    In many cases, we can judge whether or not a
    planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true
    if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't
    work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay,
    or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one
    hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water.

    Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok
    for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or
    more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several
    inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen
    in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and
    cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential.
    Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they
    measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a
    cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'.

    One of the most reliable methods of checking a
    planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo
    skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm)
    would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can
    usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a
    pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the
    diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep
    into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the
    plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until
    you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom.
    Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for
    moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out
    dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval
    between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.

    Al

    Jasmine thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)