Brown leaves are the bane of peace lily lovers.
Here’s how to remedy the problem for your plant.
OksanaRadchenko / Getty Images
Peace lilies are popular indoor plants because theyre lovely and easy to grow.
Credit:OksanaRadchenko / Getty Images
However,peace liliesare known for having one common problem: leaves that turn brown.
There are a lot of reasons your peace lilys leaves turn brown.
Most ugly leaves are sparked by water issues, dry air, irregular temperature and too much fertilizer.
Heres how to spot the problem and how to fix it.
Underwatering
Brown-tipped leaveson a peace lily can be a sign that your plant is not getting enough water.
The first sign your peace lily is thirsty will be yellowing and wilting leaves.
Fix It:Get your peace lily on a consistent watering schedule that keeps the soil consistently moist.
Overwatering is one of the main causes of brown tipped leaves on a peace lily.
They cannot get absorb nutrients and moisture from the soil, so the peace lily starves to death.
As it starves, the leaves die.
They yellow and then turn brown and then drop off.
Overwatering can even lead to the peace lilysroots rotting.
They die, leaving the plant with no way to feed itself.
Fix It:Stop watering and let your peace lilys soil dry out.
Get your plant on aconsistent watering scheduleso you keep the peace lilys soil consistently moist.
If your peace lily has developed root rot, repot the plant in new soil.
Trim off the rotten roots when you repot the plant.
Chemicals in Water
Peace lilies can be sensitive to chemicals intap water, especially fluoride.
Fix It:Use filtered water, distilled water, or captured rainwater on your peace lily.
If tap water is your only option, let is stand for two days to allow chemicals to evaporate.
Poor Drainage
Soggy soil will cause root rot and brown leaves.
Rotting roots cannot absorb nutrients your peace lily needs.
Left uncorrected, poor drainage will kill a peace lily.
You do not want your peace lily to sit in sodden soil.
Dont place your peace lily in a tray with standing water.
Use fast-draining potting mix that wont force roots to stand in sodden soil for long periods of time.
Put your peace lily in a container with drainage holes and pot it in a fast draining growing medium.
Low Humidity
Peace lilies are native to rainforests with moist air.
Typical household humidity levels may not be high enough to keep peace lily leaves green and healthy.
Brown leaf tips can be a sign the leaves are drying out and the plant needs more humidity.
Fix It:Spritz your peace lilys leaves with water once a week.
Put the peace lily in a bathroom where you take regular steamy showers.
Put ahumidifier in the roomwith the peace lily.
Your other tropical plants will love the humidifier, too.
Over-Fertilizing
Giving your peace lilytoo much fertilizercan turn leaves brown.
These provide gentler sources of nutrients.
Fix It:Flush the peace lilys container with water to remove fertilizer salts.
Drafts
Peace lilies need consistent temperatures of between 65 and 75 degrees.
Extreme fluctuations will stress the plant and make leaves turn brown.
Fix It:confirm your peace lily is not sitting by a drafty window or a heating vent.
Put it in a location away from windows, doors, and vents.
Theseplants like filtered lightand can live on as little as 2 hours of sun a day.
Thats why they are such great houseplants.
If a peace lilys leaves turn brown, it may be getting too much sun.
Thebrown could be sun scald.
Fix It:Move your peace lily to a spot where itgets indirect sunlight.
Old Age
Leaves have a natural lifespan, like all living things.
Fix It:Just trim off that browned leaf.
Removing old leaves makes your peace lily look better and directs its energy into making new leaves and blooms.
If peace lily leaves are simply dying of old age, you are an A+ peace lily parent.
Prune off damaged or discolored leaves at any time.
They wont turn green again, no matter what you do.
Your plant will look better when you snip off leaves with brown tips.
Dont trim just the brown tips.
Remove the entire leaf.
