Peace Lily Is Looking A Little Yellow
Ask the Expert: Yellowing leaves
I have a large peace lily that has yellowing leaves, it gets misted once a week and gets early morning sun. I transplanted it last fall and it was doing well until recently. I water every 4th day. The entire plant is now looking very yellow and I’m afraid there is something else going on can you help?
May 27th, 2008 at 7:48 am
Darryl,
If the inner leaves of the peace lily are yellow, too much water maybe the problem. Check the drain hole of your pot and make sure it has not become clogged. If the outer leaves are turning yellow, then too much light is the issue. Even morning sun, if focused directly on the leaves, can be harsh to the peace lily plant.
Has anything different occurred during the last few weeks. Could someone else be contributing to the watering of the peace lily? What kind of soil media did you use to re-pot the peace lily? Has the peace lily been sitting in water for any length of time? Rapid temperature changes can also cause problems. Is the plant under or in a direct air flow path from you heat and air vent? If so this could be the problem. Really hot temperatures are not good for peace lily plants.
I would trim off the yellow leaves and watch for new growth. If the new growth is fine then the problem has been corrected. In the mean time, water the peace lily only when the soil about two inches deep is dry. Make sure your water is tepid when you water your plant. Water that is too hot or cold can cause stress in the plant. Make sure that light from any source is not beating down directly on the peace lily.
It might not hurt to read our Peace Lily Plant Care Page.
May 27th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
My peace lily got too much sunlight, and the leaves are burnt. They leaves have lost their shape and hangs down. What can I do? Can I cut those leaves off?
May 28th, 2008 at 7:58 am
Sharon,
Cut the damaged leaves off and make sure the peace lily is moist. Back it away from the light source and it should make a full recovery.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:30 am
I have two peace lilies one seems to be doing ok. The other bigger one is turning yellow and my new growth is wilting. Also last week I pulled a peice of the plant off. It was brownish black, not ot mention it came off very easy. Could this be root rot? I water them once every 10 -14 days. By the way is it okay to cut off the yellowing leaves or is it better to them completely die out and then remove them?
Please help, in a competition with my boyfriend to see who can grow them best and longer.
July 2nd, 2008 at 8:43 am
Latrice,
It is a good idea to cut the yellow leaves off. It sounds like you might have a stem rot problem. When you water the plant you want to water the soil and not the leaves. Water that pools in the center of the plant and remains for a while can cause a rotting problem. Check to make sure you plant doesn’t have water pooling in the foliage. Also check for any soft black spots on the leaves and cut them off. Also, check for insects at the same time. If you see insect in the soil or if you have a lot of soft black spots, you might need to re-pot the peace lily removing as much of the damage plant as possible.