Ask the Expert: Will my peace lily come back to life?

Peace lily

Ok so i went on vacation about a month ago and i was gone for 2 weeks. Well my air conditioning went out in my house and my peace lily was dead when i got home. All of the leaves were dried up and black. So i cut them all off and watered the plant and left the plant alone for a month now. It looked like new growth was trying to come through and then they turn black on the tips! So now after reading about root rot i decited to take the plant out of its plastic pot that has holes on the bottom and clean the pot out. At the moment i dont have a different pot to put it in so this one will have to do for now. The roots are blackish brown color i dont know if i did the right thing but i just kinda picked at the roots to see if i could see some better looking roots and there was a few but i had just got done watering the plant and it was soaking wet. I think it was over watered now that i have read the proper way to water. So i filled the bottom of the pot with new soil and put the plant in the pot and filled around the sides. I pulled all the dead dried looking stalkes so that all that was left was green. This is what it looks like now. Do u think it will come back? Can root rot be treated in any way? Amanda

Plant Expert Reply:

I see some potential for recovery. The fact that you have a few areas of green left means the plant is still viable. However, it does sound as if you have a root rot problem.  Black, mushy roots or a pungent odor from the roots all indications of root rot. Foliage that is declining is also a sign of root rot.

Your plant can recover but you will need to take care of a few things first. Remove as many of the damaged roots as possible.  Do this by removing the plant from the pot and cut away the damaged roots.  If your plastic pot doesn’t have drain holes, make a few in the bottom of the pot before you place the plant back in it.  At this point we only want moist but not soggy soil.  In a few weeks the plant should start to show signs of new growth.

Good luck and keep me posted.

Ask the Expert: I recently acquired a peace lily from my brother’s funeral. I would like to know how to prone the plant once a flower blossom dies. I want to keep the plant looking nice. Your care instructions doesn’t say where to cut the flower off at. Or do I just leave it alone and let the stem die too and then pull stem and all out at once. Thank you.    Grace

Plant Expert Reply:

You can leave the stalk and let it die-back on its own, but that makes the plant unsightly.  Follow the stalk to the base of the plant and snip it off.  Removing the spent flowers will keep the plant attractive.  To keep the plant healthy remove the florists wrapping and make sure it is a pot that will allow the plant to drain.  Then keep the plant moist but not soggy.