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overwatered peace lily


Question
My peace lily was droopy so I watered it. I became concerned when the leaves became more droopy and so I watered it again. The leaves looked even worse so I took it outside with the intent of repotting it.  When I took it out of the straw basket it was in, I discovered it was sitting in about three inches of water.  I repotted the plant and just moistened the soil.  That's been two days ago and the lily isn't looking any better. What can I do now?

Answer
Hi Julie
I am sorry to have to be the one to break the news to you; I believe your Peace Lily, aka 'Spathiphyllum', has see its better days.  
Peace Lily's can be a little tricky, they take quite a bit of water, more than most plants, but they can be overwatered so easily.  Once they sit in water like yours did, they develop 'root rot'.  You can try cutting off the rotted parts of the roots, but at this point I don't see it helping.  I would just chalk this up to a lesson.
During the summer months, Peace Lily's tend to have a little more of a 'droop' to their leaves.  This is because of the warmer weather, air conditioners, etc.  This does not always mean that they need water though.  
The best way to water Peace Lilys is to put it in the sink or wherever you can just pour water into the soil until it is running out of the bottom-always make sure you have good drainage-then allow the soil dry out to the touch for about 2" down.  Then water again.  
You can also try adding about 1tsp. of Epsom salts to the water-this will help the soil retain the moisture better.
I hope this helps you, at least for your next Peace Lily!

Leslie

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