Question
Dear Mr. Creed I have a five year old peace Lilly that has been in a 4 gal. glazed pot for about 6 months now. It is about 5 feet around 2 feet tall from the pot up. I have it placed in front of a southern facing window with sheer curtains and has been doing great, even better since the repot, and started blooming (2 and one coming up). I water it every 2-3 days,it seems to start wilting at about 3 days.In the last week though it has started wilting water or not, so thinking I was over watering I left it alone for 4 days. this didn't help, so I gave it a little water but it is totally limp, I have it tied up so the flowers and bigger leaves don't break. What do you think the problem is? Your knowledge would be appreciated.

Answer
Hi Amanda,

There are two possibilities here. One is that the roots are not getting the water even though you are watering the soil. Sometimes when soil gets very dry, it doesn't absorb water and the water just passes through the soil and out of the drainage hole. Sometimes this happens after repotting if the original rootball is not well integrated with the added soil. The moisture may all get absorbed by the fresh soil, but not by the original rootball soil where the roots are.

The other possibility is that the roots are no longer functioning and are not able to absorb water. This could be because the roots were damaged during the repotting or because the roots have gradually rotted over an extended period of time.

I am sorry I cannot be more definitive without actually seeing your peace lily. However, do understand that wilting is always due to lack of water being absorbed by the roots and there is more than one reason that water may not be absorbed.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC