Houseplant murderer strikes again

lostinrates

A friend gave me a peace lily this summer its rather large, and froma plant she has been nuturing for about thirty years. She said 'whack it in a big pot, water it now and again, it'll thrive.

As i look at it....well i am not sure. The leaves have a lot of brown on them, one entirely brown and dead most of the others look somewhat tortured. It has one flower, whch might suggest a last ditch attempt to breed before dying?

What am i doing it wrong? Its not in a lot of light ( its to the left of an east facing window, so it might be too dim for it)

keelyjrs

I find it has been a challenge to keep these, I have two from the same plant but in different pots iyswim! They can be sensitive to under and over watering, I find that mine do best if I water them well when they just start to droop.

I have one in a north facing window that has done really well, the other one was in a bit of a dingy corner with hardly any light so ii have moved it and its picking up. South facing is too strong and they get scorched.

Don't give up as my second one has come back from thee dead lol

lostinrates

Thanks! I kept one as a teen that my parents killed when i went to uni, and thinking about it, that one was in a north window. North windows we have, so i might plan a move for this guy and see if he picks up.

keelyjrs

Good luck, how bout the watering? Do you think you might be under or over watering maybe?

lostinrates

keelyjrs wrote: »

Good luck, how bout the watering? Do you think you might be under or over watering maybe?

I might hve been overwatering.

keelyjrs

Lol we've all done it mate, its a learning curve

olly300

lostinrates wrote: »

I might hve been overwatering.

Water from the bottom when the soil is touch dry i.e. stick your finger in soil to check if it's dry. If it's on or very near an East facing window then you need to water it about once a week most of the year. (I have 2 on an East facing window and they are happy.)

If you forget to water it the leaves will wilt - the plant looks like it's collapsing which is more likely to occur in hot weather or if your house is very warm in winter - then put it in a bucket of water until the leaves look normal. This takes between 12-24 hours. Then take it out and leave it until the soil is touch dry before watering it again.

I've had 2 peace lilies since I was a uni student. Both of them were brought from Ikea as their smallest plants.

The first I had to give away after about 10 years - after dividing it into multiple plants - because I went to work abroad. This second one is 5 plants, 2 of which I gave away 2 years ago and 3 I still have. Because I've kept my heating low in the winter for the past 2 years they haven't really grown massive until this year. So next year I probably be dividing them again.

lostinrates

Thanks. Its already quite big, and in a huge pot, an outdoor pot because i could not find an indoor one big enough, but it was a division this summer, just a big division! Its on a pot dish, but the biggest one i could find is too small to water from below! I will have to find or buy a bigger one i think. . Our house is usually cool, so hopefully it will not grow too horrifcally here.

misskool

they really don't need much water. mine gets a watering when it looks on death's door. saucer or two of water overnight and it bounces back for a few weeks.

the citrus plant is another story....