Please help me help these peace lilies

Hi, I have two huge peace lilies that just don't seem to be happy. I have only had them since Jan. and have tried everything I can think of to make them better. Repotted one that had busted the pot it came in(no root rot to be found), water appropriately, moved to good light conditions. They were both great at first but since late Feb they have declined although they both still bloom? The leaves just droop all the time. These came from my sister in law funeral(she died suddenly at age 45)so I really need to save them for my husband's sake. I'm sure ya'll understand their value to him. Anyway any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks

Here's the same plant from a different angle. Both plants look the same.

A couple thoughts for you (although there are undoubtedly other possibilities too) The first possibility is transplant shock. When you repot things, they'll go through a little bit of transplant shock if you disturbed their roots in the process. I'd get it out of the sun for a little while, new pot + sun beating down on it could stress it, I'd keep it in a shadier place until it settles in. And the second possibility is too much water...I noticed that you have it sitting in a saucer, if you water it and water sits in the saucer that's not good for the majority of plants. I'd leave the saucer there for a little bit after you water to collect the excess, but then make sure you dump it out so the plant's not sitting in water.

Hey thanks for your reply. Maybe I should have been more clear in my first post. Sorry. I only repotted this one, it started the drooping thing first and I only repotted it because I noticed that the roots had busted the pot but the other one looks the same and I haven't done anything but water it. They sit in my living room getting indirect sunlight in the afternoon. I have blinds on my windows, they face west, and are never opened in the afternoon. So it usually doesn't get direct sunlight. I just had it out on the porch for a few minutes this morning because I needed to add a little bit of soil to the top. Anyway I never let water sit in the tray and only water when the top inch is dry. Oh yeah I forgot to mention that I do the diluted fertlizer every time I water. For this one your idea of a shader spot may be the trick(since I transplanted it)but do you think it needs to be darker than where it usually sits in the living room? or where you just refering to it being on the deck? Thanks again for your help!

I was talking about the deck, didn't realize you'd just taken it out there for the pictures. I suspect your location in the living room is fine, although I don't grow these so someone who does will know the light requirements much better than I would.

If your other plant is the same size my guess is it needs repotting as well. Plants that are rootbound and in need of a new pot will often show signs of water stress (such as wilting) because there are a ton of roots in the pot and not much soil to hold water, so it becomes almost impossible to get the plant enough water. So I suspect that may be why they started wilting in the first place, and this one may be continuing to wilt a bit because it was just repotted and needs time to adjust to its new surroundings.

As far as the fertilizer, I don't grow these so I don't know what their requirements are, adding it every time you water sounds a bit much to me but someone who grows these would know better. It's also probably best to hold off on the fertilizer right after you transplant, it's better to let the plant settle in a bit first before fertilizing it again.

racegirl,

Question #1. When you repotted it, did you keep the plant at ythe same level it had been growing? In other words, I hope you did not just plop it in a bigger pot and then fill it up with soil! Submerging a plant deeper than it has been growing will, eventually, kill it.

Question #2. If you transplanted it properly--do you deep-water when you water? By that I mean--water until the whole root ball is moist. Pouring a cup of water (or so) on a plant never reaches the deeper roots--so I might suspect that your plant may be "wilting".....

If any of these fit--you need to change what you did/are doing.

Other than that--maybe it IS just transplant shock. I would not feed this plant for a couple of months. Let it recover--and when you see it "perking up", then you can resume normal care....

Good luck, Gita

PS. ecrane--it is weird how the two of us trail each other on advice to newbie House Plant questions......:o)

We do find the same threads quite a lot! LOL

ecrane-thanks for your help! I will try repotting the other one as well. And quit the fertilizer for now.

Gitagal-I am new here but not new to gardening outside or in. Not an expert by any means but I know enough that usually I have good success. Thats why these two plants have me asking for help. Anyway I got a pot 1 gallon bigger than the one it was in and used what I would call SOP for replanting. After having to cut the old pot away I gently untangled the outside roots, then repotted at the same level(as you were saying)I did then and do everytime deep water and make sure no water sits in the bottom of the contanier or saucer. It usually works good this way for me.

It's been a little more than a month and I thought by now it should be showing signs of improvement though the fertilizer may be part of the problem.

Whats weird is that I just separated a small peace lily for my mother in law, it was so root bound that the only soil left was at the very top plus when I picked it up it was sitting in about a 1/2 inch of stinking water and it was beautiful and healthy, blooming and everything. Kinda makes me think I'm paying to much attention to mine.

Maybe I should put them on different sides of the room. They may just be plotting against me, perking their leaves up after I go to bed and laughing at me. lol

I guess I will transplant the other one, stop the fertilizer and quit fussing over them for a while, see if they will perk back up.

Thanks!

I've grown my same plant in the same pot for four or five years. It is placed in full part time sun and bright light in the house. We give it a very light kelp tea about once every two weeks and about a quart of water once a week. We have a slight leaf tip burn but the plant flowers continously in its cycle of every month or so. When it flowers it does so for a couple of weeks and the rests.

I suspect you are not getting enough inside light on the plant. I would say that your plant as shown looks like low light conditions and over fertilization making those lighter larger leaves. Possibly this is the plant making more foliage in an attempt to get more light. It could still be over fertilized. There are different plants of slightly different size foliage. My leaves are darker green and not showing the lighter green and larger new leaves. Until mine stops flowering I will assume it is not pot bound by its terms. You may assume correctly that the greenhouses force growth doing just the opposite from what I am suggesting. You may still be over fertilized from the source. The source greenhouse almost always has a plant up to maximum growth to sell it faster. Time and patience, less water and more light is what I think you are waiting on. Within reason I do not think you can do anything to hurt your plants if you attend to the few basics suggested.

racegirl--

Sounds like you are doing everything right.....
I would just assume then that it is suffering a small relapse since you "messed around" with the roots. Give it rest and don't overdo anything. It just needs to recover......

Good luck! Gita

This is my four or five years in same pot plant. It is inside an East picture window. It gets full sun for about two hours and bright light the remainder. That's a perfectly happy kumquat behind it and this year's garden seedlings in the foreground. My edge burn might be to much light. This is the first Spring since a tree removal that gives us more sun. Moving it back away from the window one foot will be better indoor placement yet that is still a good bit more light than I think your plant is getting. Even so it keeps blooming as you can see. There are two blooms at the moment and another to arrive in about a week. I see four or five new leaves forming in the center of the plant.

docgipe thanks for your info. That looks like the peace lily that I just seperated for my mother in law. That kind really does well in any conditions. I could not believe it was still alive after I picked it up and it was sitting in stagnant water! It was beautiful and blooming and so root bound there was no dirt left in the pot. I wish I had taken pictures so you could see! I put mine in better light conditions and quit fussing over them. One is starting to perk up a little so hopefuly they will both do well.

Thanks for everyones help and suggestions!