The Spathiphyllum wallisii is a beautiful addition to any household, and they’re effortless to grow. So, it’s rather distressing when you get home to find a sad, drooping peace lily.
You’re probably wondering, “why is my peace lily plant drooping?”. And to be fair, there are a number of potential causes like underwatering, root rot, transplant shock, using the wrong type of potting soil, pests attack, plus a few other reasons that could be at play – but all of them are super easy to fix.
This post will help you determine the root cause is so you can revive your plant and ensure it’s thriving once again.
Common causes of Drooping Peace Lily
Below you’ll find nine common causes of a drooping peace lily, plus how you can fix these underlying issues to revive your peace lily to its former glory. So, let’s get to the bottom of why your Spathiphyllum wallisii is drooping.
Peace Lily Wilting Due to Underwatering
If you’re underwatering your peace lily, the leaves aren’t being supplied with enough moisture and nutrients from the roots.
These plants are very sensitive to dehydration and will start drooping very quickly if they’re thirsty. We’ve all been there, your plants look great when you leave the house, but when you get back later the same day, they look like a ghost of their former self.
The solution is watering them before they start wilting. But Peace lilies are tough, so if your plant looks like it’s on death’s door, don’t worry. It will most likely bounce back like nothing happened after you water it again.
How do you revive a droopy peace lily
Wondering how do you revive a droopy peace lily? To revive your peace lily, you should water your plant at least once a week and keep the soil moist to prevent wilting. Also, this depends on the plant’s growing environment in your house. During warmer month such as summer, you can also mist your plant leaves every other day to keep them hydrated.
Learning the frequency of watering indoor plants is crucial for plant-lovers because this will eliminate any wilting and keep your plants happy.
Overwatering Your Peace Lily Plant
Overwatering is more serious, especially if you’ve been overwatering your peace lily for some time. If you water your indoor plants when the soil is still moist, it will be constantly water-logged.
This won’t give it time to dry out, which means the roots have no reason to grow in search of nutrients and water, and you’re also increasing the chance of getting root rot (more on that below). Yellow leaves are another sign of overwatering that you should watch out for.
To avoid overwatering, only water your peace lily when the first few centimeters of the topsoil is dry. You should also only use soil that drains well, but more on that a little bit later.
How do I know if my peace lily is overwatered? Five Signs to look out for:
- Yellow foliage throughout the plant
- The leaves tips and edges of the plant turning brown
- The roots turning black and mushy
- Brown spots of the stalks
- The plant leaves drooping
You might also be asking; can a peace lily recover from overwatering? And the answer is yes. Overwatering can cause root rot which can be seen in the form of brown or black-tipped and soggy roots. However, if overwatering is identified early and corrective actions are taken then your peace lily can recover from overwatering.
Root Rot
Root rot, as the name suggests, means your roots are rotting in the soil. This is a sure way to destroy your plant’s ability to absorb nutrients and water, which causes drooping. Rotting roots look mushy and will be discolored.
How To Fix Peace Lily Root Rot:
- Remove the plant from its pot by holding the plant’s base and flipping the pot upside down to get the root ball out of the pot.
- Carefully wash the roots under running water and trim off the rotting roots with a clean pair of scissors.
- Dip the healthy roots in a fungicide and repot peace lilies plant.
Excessive & Direct Light
Peace lilies are naturally found growing under forest canopies that receive minimal direct sunlight. So, it makes sense that these plants like to grow in shaded areas of the house that don’t get much direct sunlight.
Your peace lily can handle direct sunlight, but make sure it’s not more than a few hours each day. If you leave a Spathiphyllum wallisii in direct sunlight for long periods, it will start wilting very quickly, and the leaves will start showing burn marks from the sun’s heat.
The light exposure increases the plant’s transpiration rate, which causes the plant to lose water. If you’re giving your plant too much direct sunlight, move it to a shaded spot in your home and give it some water.
Peace Lily in Shock after Repotting – Transplant Shock
Often after transplanting a plant, the lily leaves will droop due to transplant shock. Generally, this isn’t a severe issue because your plant will likely start looking happier after a day or even a couple of hours.
The roots can take time to adjust to their new home, so drooping may result from a lack of water intake even if you’ve recently watered the newly transplanted peace lily. It’s best to wait a day or two before watering the plant again, so you don’t run the risk of overwatering.
Your plant should bounce back after about a day, so don’t panic if you see drooping leaves after the transplant. However, if a few days pass and the plant hasn’t recovered, you may have damaged the root ball during the transplant.
A badly damaged root ball will make it difficult for your plant to absorb water and nutrients. Severe cases of this can result in the plant’s death – there’s no easy fix for this, unfortunately.
That’s why learning how to transplant is so important. Once you’ve got your transplanting technique down to a tee, this issue is unlikely to arise in the future.
Peace Lily Dying after Repotting
If you’re peace lily dying after repotting them, you’re not alone. Many gardeners have had this problem and there are a few things that could be causing it. One possibility is that you’re not using the right kind of potting mix. Peace lilies need a mix that’s rich in organic matter and drains well. If your potting mix doesn’t meet these criteria, it could be causing your Peace lily to die after repotting.
Another possibility is that you’re not watering your peace lily correctly. They like to be kept evenly moist, but not soggy. If the roots are allowed to dry out, it can cause the plant to die. If you’ve recently moved your peace lily to a new location, it could be causing the plant to die. If you think one of these factors might be causing your peace lily to die after repotting, make sure to take corrective action right away.
Droopy Peace Lily after Repotting
Your droopy peace lily is likely suffering from shock after being repotted. While it’s not the most common issue, it’s certainly something that can happen when you transplant your peace lily. There are a few things you can do to help your plant recover.
First, make sure that you’ve used the correct potting mix. Peace lilies prefer a slightly acidic soil, so be sure to use a mix that contains peat moss or compost. Second, water your plant regularly, but don’t allow it to sit in water. The best way to water a peace lily is to use a watering can with a long spout to avoid getting water on the leaves. Finally, give your plant some time to adjust to its new pot and environment. With a little care, your droopy peace lily should recover in no time.
Peace Lily Dying Due to Pests
Peace lilies are quite resilient towards pests, but mealybugs are a pest that can cause its leaves to droop and significantly damage the plant if left untreated. These bugs suck the sap of the leaves and stems, which dehydrates the plant.
If you take a close look at your peace lily and see white bugs that look like fluffy clumps of mould, you have a mealybug infestation. They like to live in colonies, so you’ll have many of them to battle.
A simple solution to fighting these pests is spraying your peace lily with neem oil. This is a natural insecticide that kills a wide variety of pests, including mealybugs of all stages. You can purchase neem oil online or at any plant nursery.
Generously spray the plant every seven days, and you’ll see the mealybug infestation decrease dramatically. Continue applying the neem oil until no more bugs are visible.
For the best peace lily care, you can start applying neem oil every two weeks to a month, even when there aren’t any signs of pests. Good gardening practices like this will eliminate any chances of pest infestations occurring.
Using the Wrong Soil
Using the wrong type of soil can increase the chances of the soil becoming waterlogged. Your peace lily will start drooping if this occurs. Waterlogged soil, as mentioned above, can cause root rot, so it’s best to use the correct soil from the beginning.
Your growing medium should drain sufficiently after each water. This will dry the soil out and keep your plant’s root ball healthy. However, growing in soil that drains too quickly will mean the plant can’t absorb enough water and nutrients, also resulting in wilting.
When growing peace lilies, avoid using clay soils and gritty potting soils. Clay soils drain very slowly, which results in waterlogged soil. Gritty, or sandy soil, drains too quickly because it doesn’t retain moisture for long.
A quick solution to this is transplanting your peace lily into suitable soil. Good soil for peace lilies has a balanced mix of perlite, coco coir, peat moss and fine bark. If you grow other house plants, check out my beginner’s guide to the best soil for the Fiddle-leaf Fig.
Growing in the Wrong Humidity
Peace lilies love warm growing environments with high humidity levels. If the air is too dry, the humidity levels will be low, which can cause peace lilies to droop. Other signs of low humidity levels can be seen on the leaves – including brown edges, yellowing, and becoming hard and crispy.
An easy way to increase the humidity is by misting your plant. But this will only temporarily increase the humidity, so buying a portable humidifier will do the trick for a long-term solution. Humidifiers keep your growing environment at a constant humidity level, which means you can grow your peace lilies at optimal humidity.
If a portable humidifier is out of the question, you can place your peace lily plants on top of a tray of wet pebbles. By doing this, you can increase the humidity levels around the plant.
However, the simplest method is choosing a strategic place to grow your peace lily. Choosing a room that’s more humid than other rooms will keep your plant happy without much effort.
Growing in the Wrong Temperature
Now that you know peace lilies love warm, humid growing conditions, it doesn’t take a genius to know that growing in cold temperatures will stress the plant and cause drooping. Temperatures less than 13 degrees Celsius will stunt plant growth, and temperatures less than 4 degrees will cause permanent damage to the plant.
The optimal temperature for peace lilies is between 20 and 29 degrees Celsius, so if you want your plant to flourish, finding an area in your house that falls within this temperature range will do the trick.
Should I mist my peace lily? Yes, you should peace lily leaves, they love a good misting, especially during the summer months.
Causes of Drooping Peace Lily – Fixed
So now that you’re up to date on your peace lily plant care, gone are the days of saying, “my peace lily is dying”, when you have guests over. However, the battle isn’t over just yet, it’s time to thoroughly explore each potential cause so that you determine which one is at play.
You can quickly return your low-maintenance peace lily to health after a little bit of plant detective work. If you’re willing to rectify the situation and effectively treat your plant baby, you’ll have no issues getting it smiling again!
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