Peace lily drooping is an alarming condition caused by many factors like poor soil, watering issues, incorrect lighting, unacceptable humidity levels, temperature stresses, insect attack, and fungal diseases.
But worry no more as you can fix all of these causes in no time. Stay till the end to know everything about the reasons behind the drooping of leaves and how you can deal with them easily.
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What Are the Causes of Peace Lilies Drooping?
The causes of peace lilies drooping are poor soil health, not adding adequate water, and improper lighting conditions. In some cases, temperature stresses can also impact the leaf’s health. Furthermore, leaves can also start to sag if insects or fungi attack.
– Soil Issues
When you see peace lily leaves bending or drooping, the main culprit in most cases is poor soil conditions. The biggest soil problem the plant can face is an imbalance of pH. A peace lily plant likes soil pH to be between 5.8 to 6.5. If it is more or less than this range, then mineral uptake cannot occur. As a result, nutrient deficiency happens, and leaves begin to droop.
In addition, poor drainage of soil also causes problems for the plants. The excess water cannot seep through the root zones in such soil. It will stay around the roots long, leading to oxygen stress.
Furthermore, plants will also need more if sufficient minerals are present in the soil. The nutrients play a key role in internal processes like photosynthesis. When unavailable, these processes will stop, leading to the loss of leaf shape.
– Incorrect Watering
Adding more or less water than needed can also cause drooping leaves. It is important to follow proper watering schedules to ensure plants stay in shape. The physiological functions will stop if you don’t apply water for days to weeks.
These physiological processes are critical to generating energy, which plants utilize to hold their shape. Furthermore, when there is a lack of water, leaves won’t be any vigor, which can also cause leaves to bend.
Similarly, the overwatered peace lily is not desirable either. When you add more water than it needs, fungal growth will double up. This fungus harms the roots, which will downgrade its performance. So, such plants eventually become weaker with poor leaf shape.
– Improper Lighting Conditions
One of the common reasons that cause leaves to droop is inappropriate lighting conditions. Peace lilies need bright indirect sunlight for at least six to seven hours to perform physiological functions. If you grow them in shady areas, these processes will slow down, leading to the drooping of leaves.
Similarly, bright and direct light for more hours can cause moisture to evaporate from the leaves. When this happens, leaves droop down and eventually fall off. Furthermore, high-intensity light can also cause sunburn. In this, yellow spots appear on the leaves. Due to these spots, the photosynthesis rate also declines, and more leaf problems occur.
– Unsuitable Humidity Levels
Why is my peace lily drooping and turning yellow? If you are thinking about it, then check the humidity levels first. Peace lily loves the humidity to be 50 percent or more. If it is lower than this, get ready to see some deformed yellow leaves.
It is because when high humidity, plants evaporate more water than they can absorb from the soil. That is why such plants look very similar to under-watered plants. In this situation, the leaves will stay droopy until the humidity increases to 50 percent.
– Temperature Stress
The plant might face temperature stress when you see peace lily drooping and brown tips and the weather is too hot or cold. A peace lily likes the temperature to be between 68 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. If it gets more than 90 degrees Fahrenheit, then heat stress will occur.
In heat stress, leaves transpire more water to ensure optimal inner temperature. In doing so, they can get deficient in water. When this water level drops to dangerous levels, leaves will droop. In addition, you will also see peace lily flowers shedding when the temperature is too high for the plants.
Similar to heat, cold stress can also damage the leaves. Well, the rate of physiological functions declines when the temperature is colder outside than needed. As discussed above, if these processes cannot take place seamlessly, leaves won’t be able to hold their shape and ultimately droop.
– Insect Attack
Yellowing leaves are a sign of insect infestation. So, never take leaf discoloration lightly. Also, note that the next step after yellowing is the leaves bending. So, how does an insect cause leaves to droop?
Well, insects drink the cell juice, which reduces the moisture necessary to hold the leaf shape. Moreover, this juice is not an ordinary one. It contains chlorophyll- a pigment that gives leaves their natural green color. Chlorophyll is also critical for leaves to do photosynthesis as well.
So, a lack of cell juice can cause a pigment shortage, leading to discoloration and drooping. The insects that love to suck this peace lily juice are aphids, spider mites, thrips, and mealybugs.
– Disease Damage
Peace lilies are prone to different diseases, but the common one that they face is root rot. It is a fungal disease that mainly harms the roots, causing them to rot. That is why root rot-infected plants also smell weird from the base.
When the roots get damaged, they cannot function as plants expect them to. As a result, leaves have less water and minerals to do photosynthesis, and they eventually droop. If you don’t do anything to control this disease, plants’ conditions will worsen, and they will ultimately die.
– Choosing the Wrong Pot
Another reason that causes drooping leaves is your poor selection of pot. Peace lilies need a bigger pot or container to show their full growth potential. But the roots will only stretch properly if you grow them in smaller ones. They might rotate within the limited soil, which is often called root bound.
Such roots need to be stronger in structure and help them perform their roles successfully. That is why you will likely see brown leaves on plants growing in smaller pots than larger ones.
– Repotting Aftermath
Transplant shock is the last main reason behind the leaves bending of peace lilies. It happens when you shift a peace lily plant from one pot to another. Just like we need some time to familiarize ourselves with new surroundings after shifting to a new place, roots also take some time to settle into the new soil.
During this settling period, water and minerals absorption does not occur as usual. Therefore, such leaves can droop and even have yellow spots. So, how do you revive a droopy peace lily?
How To Fix the Leaves of a Drooping Peace Lily?
To fix the leaves of a drooping peace lily, you should improve soil conditions by maintaining its pH, enhancing drainage etc. It is also important to give plants proper water and provide protection from environmental stresses.
Furthermore, apply insecticides and fungicides in case of an insect infestation or disease attack.
– Make Soil Healthy
The first thing we suggest you do to bring back the leaf’s firmness and shape is to make sure the soil stays healthy. For this, you should add a layer of compost to the potting soil. It is because this organic material releases nutrients to the soil and also improves drainage capabilities.
You should also make sure the soil remains in the ideal range. To know about it, you can use pH strips. If these strips show that the soil has unsuitable pH, then add appropriate treatments with care.
If the soil pH is lower than required, add lime, ground eggshells, and baking soda. If it is higher, apply wood ash, compost, or sulfur powder to bring the pH back to the optimal range.
– Focus on Lighting
For leaves to stay green and healthy, you should ensure they get the light they need. Grow them where indirect sunlight falls for at least six hours. For indoor plants, choosing this spot is easy. Place them near a window or any entrance, and they will enjoy plenty of light.
However, on a hot sunny day, you should use a cloth or any material to provide shade for a few hours. This will prevent sunburn or leaf scorching. Keep doing these things to ensure proper lighting if you want aesthetically pleasing plants.
– Deal With Temperature Stresses
When you see lily leaves turning yellow, and the temperature is either above 90 degrees Fahrenheit or lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, it means they are dealing with temperature stress.
To deal with heat stress, relocate the pots to shady areas. In addition, applying cold water on the soil and leaves can also help plants deal with excessive heat.
In cold stress, bring the plants inside. It is because the home’s inside temperature is usually above 60 degrees Fahrenheit, even in winter. If you want, you can also switch on heaters near them to provide warmth.
– Choose the Right Pot/Container
A peace lily plant loves the extra soil volume as it can stretch its roots more. So, if you are growing this plant in smaller pots, carefully transplant them into a bigger one. This will also allow you to water properly as there is more volume in large pots.
If plants face shock after transplantation, don’t worry. You can use vitamin b1 for peace lily root growth. Furthermore, you can also give a dose of liquid fertilizer after repotting to initiate mineral absorption.
– Control Insect Population
If insects attack your peace lilies, sprinkle some baking soda or wood ash on the soil and apply water carefully. You can also spray neem oil to ward off these unwanted pests. But if every plant in your garden gets affected by insects, then go for chemical insecticides.
– Protect Plants From Disease Damage
When root rot attacks, you should immediately follow plant care measures without wasting time, or the damage can spread. First, remove the extra moisture in the soil by placing the plants in a sun-rich area or adding more compost/soil to the pot.
Next, cut off infected plant parts and uproot any weeds you see. After this, apply fungicides that have thiophanate-methyl, polyoxin-D, triflumizole, or fludioxonil to cure the disease. When you do all of this, the impact of the fungal disease will start to tone down in just a few days.
Conclusion
All in all, you now know what causes the leaves of peace lilies to sag and how to deal with this problem. Here are the main points of the whole article so that no important information slips from your mind:
- Ensure the soil stays healthy (have nutrients, proper drainage, and balanced pH).
- Grow peace lilies in those areas where receiving indirect light for more than six hours is possible.
- When insects start sucking the sap from the plant, use organic repellents or chemical insecticides.
- In case of a fungus attack, cut off infected parts and use fungicides.
Stick to these points, and the leaves of peace lily plants will never droop again!
