Find Your Ask the Expert: help for a wilting peace lily
I’ve had a peace lily from my dad’s funeral for the last 7 1/2 yrs. It came in a pot about 12 inches originally, which it outgrew and I repotted the whole thing into a 14.5″ pot. It grew beautifully, flowering twice a year. It began to outgrow this pot, so I split it into 3 plants recently. One pot is 14.5″, the other two are 12.5″. I added potting soil and some of the original dirt to all and watered it like I normally did. The leaves wilted which I figured was due to the shock of splitting them, but now, 4 days later they are still wilted, like drooping the way they do when it hasn’t been watered. The soil is damp when I put my finger in, but not soggy. What can I do to help them?? Beth
Reply:
I have seen it take a week or two for a peace lily to overcome shock after it has been split and transplanted. The key is not to panic. As long as the soil is moist but not soggy, the peace lily will come out of the wilting phase.
One thing that you might check is the planting depth. If the peace lily has been planted too deep this could be a problem. The original top of the root ball should not be covered with soil. It should always remain the top of the root ball and new soil should only be used to fill the bottom of the container and to close the gap around the sides. If you placed extra soil on top of the root ball, you will need to remove the extra soil. Good luck and keep me posted
Thank you for your reply. I will wait patiently and hope for the best. I checked the depth and it appears to be ok.
you should bring your newly splitted maona loa inside the house where there is warmth and moist during winter. you place a basin of water on its side while you are waiting for its normal life.
I bought a beautiful peace Lilly, that had out grew the pot that it was in ,it went into shock. It’s been three weeks and it doesn’t appear to be doing any better so I have taken the plant from the dirt and placed it in water do you think it will be alright
Arrolla,
Don’t let your peace lily sit in water. You need to re-pot your plant. To transplant select a pot that is wider and at least as deep as the current pot. Plants should never be planted deeper than they were in the original pot. Fill the pot with a houseplant potting soil — place the plant in the soil and fill in around the sides. Water lightly every couple of days until the plant becomes accustom to its new environment. Don’t over water. Hopefully your plant will thrive again in the next few weeks. Hope this helps.
I repotted a peace lilly I got from my moms funeral and combined it with another fine I already had as they were both struggling and outgrowing their current pots. It has been over a month and the plant seems time still be drooping. I water it since a week with distilled or purified water, I even added coffee grinds to the soil thinking that would really help it time thrive but but hasn’t. What am I doing wrong. I don’t want it time die in me.
Hi Kimberly,
Generally, when a Peace Lily starts drooping, it needs more water. You might try watering it a little more often; maybe start with twice a week and see if that helps. Thanks!