Question
Hi Darlene-

Every time i go out of town Stanley Sensation, my giant wonderful Peace Lily, gets totally droopy. I have my neighbor water him, so I don't know what's happening- each time it happens, when i come home, he perks up within 24 hours.

Except this time- i've been back for 2.5 days and it's getting worse. not only are leaves droopy and thin, but the stems feel thin too, and are falling down- that is, away from the nice upright core in which they used to stand.

i repotted this plant about 3 weeks ago because it was literally pushing up out of the soil it was in. I don't think i repotted it deep enough, because even after that repotting, it lost a bit of the vertical majesty it used to have.

leave are not brown yet, just drooped and frail.

can i save Stanley???

thank you

Answer
Stuart,

You repotted Stanley a bit too early. You should only repot plants between April 1st and August 1st. That is because the days are long enough then that the roots are growing and will quickly fill the right sized new pot with roots and most plants, including Stanley, prefer to be rootbound. They will not bloom unless that pot is full of roots and they stay a lot healthier when they are rootbound because they can have the moist - dry cycles they need. When you repot you should only move any plant to a pot that has a diameter 2 inches larger than the diameter of the old pot. If you go more than 2 inches you are adding a lot more soil to the pot. Plants and especially Stanley needs to have a moist (not wet) period followed by a dry period of at least 3-4 days. During the dry period the roots take in carbon dioxide through the soil and emit oxygen through the leaves. This cycle keeps the plant healthy. When you put it in too large a pot there is too much soil in the pot for the plant to use up the moisture and dry out in 4-6 days. If it doesn't dry out in that time the fine roots begin to rot and the plant starts wilting because it cannot take in moisture without those fine roots. You see it wilting and think it is too dry so without checking the soil you water it more and the roots rot even more.

I suspect that is what is happening with your Stanley. If you pick up the plant and it is really heavy it is because it is way too wet. Remove the drain tray from under the pot and set it in the sink or tub and let it drain for 24 hours so it will start drying out faster. Leave the leaves alone until they start turning black then cut them off about 4 inches above the soil. Hopefully the plant is healthy enough that some of the leaves may strengthen and stand up again or at least the plant will send out some new leaves quickly. If you put it in a pot with a diameter a lot more than 2 inches larger than the old pot you need to repot it into a smaller pot as soon as you can. Try not to disturb the roots any more than necessary and put some dry soil around the plant. Hopefully it will heal quickly.  Another part of the problem may be that your friend who watered it while you were gone watered it too much which kept it too wet and caused more problems. More plants die from too much water than too little. When you do water Stanley use half the amount of water that you have in the past and make sure the top 3-5 inches of soil is dry before you water it. You can insert a bamboo skewer in the soil and don't water it until that skewer is half dry. Peace lilies need to dry out well between watering. If you have more questions write again. Good luck with Stanley.

Darlene