The lifespan of the peace lily is one of the most striking features of an ornamental plant.
The peace lily can live for more than two years, blooming most during spring and autumn.
Belonging to the family of philodendrons, peace lilies or variegated peace lilies have a long time of maturity and blooming than other ornamental plants.
Blooming usually takes around one year or more under the right conditions. These days, humans now apply gibberellin acid- a plant hormone, to make blooming happen rapidly.
The beauty of the peace lily is in the white flower produced when it blooms and its mild toxicity compared to other lilies.
They are native to the tropical regions of America and SouthEastern Asia. Peace lilies are forest flowers but they also do well in a domestic environment and indoors.
In the forest, peace lilies grow in areas with indirect sunlight and a consistent water supply.
Peace lilies require a good amount of heat to survive hence they can only be grown outdoors in humid climates.
Certain conditions can bring about death in peace lilies. This article outlines each of the conditions that lead to the drooping, yellow coloration of leaves, browning, and blackening of the variegated peace lily species and suggests ways to revive a dying peace lily.
Signs of Peace lily dying
The following are pointers to imminent death in the variegated peace lilies:
1. Drooling of leaves
2. Yellow coloration of leaves
3. Brown spots on leaves and stem
4. Black coloration of leaves
5. Curling of leaves
Peace Lily Leaves Drooping Due To Drought Stress
A drooping peace lily leaf bends downward and hangs lightly from the stem. The leaves appear curled up and usually have brown tips.
This is due to a low water supply to the plant and hot environments that lead to rapid evaporation from the stomata of the leaves.
Drooping of the peace lily leaves is a sign of stress and low water level. Persistent drooping in the variegated lily plant ultimately leads to wilting.
How to Revive a Drooping Peace Lily
· Consistent watering: do not let the soil of your peace lily dry out completely before you water.
Ensure to water your peace lily plant at least three times a week. The measure could reduce winter and cold weather conditions. Sufficiently apply water to the soil to enable moisture to get to the root of the plant.
· Water using distilled water: this is because the peace lily is sensitive to the many mineral salts contained in tap water. Do not use tap water on your peace lily unless you want an over-concentration of fluoride on the plant, which begins to brown the tips of the leaves. Use only distilled water every time you water your peace lily.
· Keep the variegated peace lilies in moist environments: the peace lilies enjoy cool environments with high humidity; hence they should not be kept where the sun reaches so often.
A good alternative is to keep them indoors around the staircase.
· Practice misting: misting is the act of sprinkling water from top to down of the peace lily plant.
This keeps the leaves moist and reduces the amount lost in perspiration. The art of misting also reproduces the conditions found in the tropical rainforest where the peace lily is dominant.
A consistent practice of misting and watering should get your variegated peace lily standing tall again rather than drooping from dehydration.
Peace lilies with brown spots or streaks on the leaves
Like human beings, the peace lily does not like drastic changes in environmental humidity. As a plant, it favors cold conditions.
This is not to insinuate that it cannot adapt to hot environments. It actually can, but needs to do so slowly.
This is why gardeners always advice for consistency in a garden’s environmental temperature.
Brown spots or streaks usually develop on the leaves of a peace lily plant due to exposure to too much sun- sunburn, rapid change of habitat from high humidity to a lower one.
The infestation of pests can also be the cause of brown streaks on the leaf of lilies.
The different points of appearance of the brown spots tell the cause of the brown spot.
When the brown spot appears on the leaf, it is an indicator that the plant is in a place where it is getting too much light.
When the brown spots appear on the leaf tips and margins, it is an indicator that the peace lilies lack water and are under fertilized.
Brown spots are generally red flags for the various varieties of peace lilies and demand urgent attention when they appear.
How to Revive Lilies with Sunburnt Brown Spots
1. Change plant location: once these spots begin to appear you need to change the position of the plant to someplace cooler and comfortable for growth. Someplace where the sun does not have direct contact with the plant.
2. Mist the leaves: practice misting at least once a week until the leaves begin to uncurl and the brown spots begin to fade.
3. Cut out those that can’t be saved: there are some of the leaves that might get so brown to restore their colors.
Trim out these leaves but do so only when new leaves begin to grow from the stem.
Why Peace Lily Leaves Turn Yellow
The peace lily does not just favour moist soil. It favours one that is moist and well aerated, not lacking oxygen supply.
The leaves of the peace lily begin to turn yellow when the soil on which it is planted gets damp.
Apart from dampening of soil, nutrient deficiency, as well as excess water application, can also lead to the yellowing of the leaves of the peace lily.
Other factors that lead to the yellowing of leaves of the peace lily plant are the application of too much fertilizer, poor draining, and the activities of fungi.
How to Revive Peace Lily with Yellow Leaves
1. Allow soil time to dry: cut down on your application of water to the plant for some time until the soil dries out all of its dampness.
Dip your finger into the soil to ascertain whether it is right to begin proper watering and misting again.
The importance of watering on good soil is that the water goes down to the root of the plant alongside oxygen.
2. Replant in a pot with good drainage: perhaps the plant pot you used had deficiencies in its non-possession of holes to drain out excess water, replant the lilies in a new pot with adequate holes to drain out excessive water.
3. Use fertilizers: in situations where the yellow leaves on your peace lily aren’t because of overwatering or damp soil, it is definitely a result of nutrient deficiency.
Therefore, apply fertilizers to the soil in adequate amounts that are not harmful to the plant.
Why Does Your Peace Lily Turn Black
Excessive cold or temperature drop, overwatering, cold draughts, fungi, and application of fertilizers during winter are some of the reasons why the leaves of the peace lily turn black.
Peace lilies do not like heat and direct exposure to the sun, but they also do not like ice and snow.
They are natives of tropical rain forests where the weather conditions are almost always balanced all year round.
When peace lilies turn black, it is only a matter of time before the leaves begin to droop, wilt and fall off.
Besides, the beauty of the peace lily is in its green leaf and white bloom. Turning black makes it unattractive to everyone and good to be thrown away.
How to Revive Peace Lily Turning Black
1. Ensure you do not water more than is needed by the plant for survival
2. Prune the black leaves that have grown on the stem to prevent spread in case it is a fungal infection
3. Avoid misting for the time being, until the black leaves clear out.
4. Apply fungicides against fungal infestation on the peace lily.
5. Ensure that the lowest temperature of the room where the peace lilies are kept does not fall below 10’celcius.
What Do You Do With a Dead Peace Lily?
It might happen that despite all the efforts you put in to save your peace lily, a great amount fails to respond to the measures meant to revive its life and wilts away.
There is not much you can do any longer at this point than to prune the dead parts.
When you prune, use the “deadheading pruning technique” where you prune both the leave and the stalk.
The stalk of peace lilies produces just one leaf in a lifetime. When the leaves are cut off, it’ll only be a while before the stalks also go brown and die off hence when trimming off dead parts of the peace lily, trim from the stalk, very close to the bottom.
This way, a new stalk can grow from the cut-out stalk. By letting the dead flowers remain on the plant, you harm the rest of the plant.
Key Takeaways
- Peace lilies are not as toxic as the other lilies
- Peace lilies are native to tropical forests
- Peace lilies do not survive under very cold conditions as well as very hot conditions
- Peace lilies will die when exposed to direct sunlight
- Misting is a good practice for getting peace lilies hydrated.
Conclusion
The peace lily plant is a beautiful additive to the ornamental appeal of your garden and home. You do not have to feel helpless when they begin to wilt. We hope you no longer have to watch your beautiful peace lilies fade now and then.
