More photos

More photos

Use a soil medium that drains well and water frequently. If the water is not kept sitting around the plant and the medium is porous enough you really cannot water one of these too much.

The leaf burn could be due to low humidity, I would guess this before too much water.

If there were salt deposits along the edge of the burnt strip it could also be salt burn but I see no sign of this in the last picture.

view of the pot and soil if that helps

Here are the Draconas

Just as in the video----the brown has worked its way up the edges of the leaves!

"inside there is a plastic liner the size of the pot, no saucer at all! I stuffed shallow plastic one in when I repotted it in same pot after I lost the mother Dracina"

I'd take a guess that the plastic liner is impeding drainage & keeping the roots wet. Does the Dracena pot have a liner like that too?

I suspect the only way to really know the problem & take corrective action is to unpot them & check their roots (at least of the Spath).

Peace lilies are very picky about watering. They don't like drying out completely as you have learned, but if you keep them in heavy soil that never dries out, the roots can rot. I suspect your peace lily is pouting both because it is so hard to get the watering correct for them. I also wonder if it might be unhappy because you are not letting water run through the soil completely to flush out minerals/salts.

The only way I have been able to keep peace lilies is to grow them in passive hydroculture. This works very well for them because when you use an inert, well aerated potting medium instead of soil, the roots don't rot even when they have constant access to water. That means the peace lily never wilts from underwatering and can take up all the water it wants. They seem to really like being able to do that. Look at the below link for an explanation of this method.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to convert a plant to hydroculture

This post was edited by summersunshine on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 0:59

THANK YOU to all! bboy , pirate girl and summershine:

I don't think its low humidity bboy as I've had these for years (replacing them when they die after 3-5 years from too much suffering from brown crispy leaves---only peace lilly and Dracona respond this way, others have leaves die differently or other problems as you can see on my page and my other postings!

Pirate girl: I think I was not clear----- the Peace Lilly is from a store in original green cheap store pot (as I've not repotted it yet into something better---or better yet as I just learned from "theficuswrangler" here, double potted it yet... Only the long long ago draconas had double pots, the liners are always dry if anything does drip into the bottom clear saucer it drys up, I cut off roots that work their way into those saucers if I find them so they are alway clean and dry.

summershine---Thanks for the great hydroculture lik!
oh ok, looks like you get the Looonnngggg story... I'm an old "Deco" plant hydroponic/hydrooculture person.... still have oh "sigh" 20 or so Deco plants left, but---the pots eventually made of plastic have broken, so I have plenty of the clay pellets as your link describes, but been unable to get the pots!

QUESTION: Do you (or anyone else reading this) have any links for pots and water level meters---so I can try doing that with the peace lilly? (My pots had built in meters! So no separate ones were needed but I guess I'd have to get them separately now).

For those who want to try it, see my link to "Silver Arrow stem is turning brown" Every one of the "aglaonemas" the correct name for the plant were all from the Deco company and I've been dividing off the babies and made many many pots with them, and they grow wonderful and produce lots of buds/flowers/red/orange "berries" that I leave on the plant until they fall off (no cats/dogs kids so its ok, if you have them I'd remove them before they fall on the floor for safety I don't know if they were poisonous or not).

Thanks for all your advice, sounds like if I can get the peace lilly into hydroculture that would solve the problem once and for all and I just have to worry about what size pot is the limit the table top where it is can hold!

Forest_of_Houseplants

hydro culture would definitely be good for peace lily.
i grow mine on the water-wick in semi-hydro (roots are in soilless mix) and feed it with african violet fertilizer 7-7-7 with micros.
i used to have one for close to 10 years, but then got tired of it. now i got variegated one 'domino' last year and it is producing it's 1st flower now.
sunshine,
can you tell us how you feed yours?
my understanding is that peace lily is a hungry feeder,
so i am wondering if 7-7-7 is enough. perhaps some light top dressing with osmocote time release would be also good?

Sorry, but not so sure. At a glance, the link mentions to only convert healthy plants to hydro & I'm sorry, but that Spath is not healthy, I'm not confident it'll make it.

I'm thinking if you unpot the Spath (Peace Lily), you'll likely find some root rot & perhaps some bone dry chunks in the rootball as I think that mix has probably hardened off & is part of the problem.

A hydroponic store might have water meters. I'm not sure where to find those special pots you were using before.

Your peace lily doesn't seem like it is at death's door to me, so personally I would take the risk and try putting it into hydroculture, since peace lilies do so much better in "moist but not soaking wet" conditions. However, I do think it is true that some plants have a hard time adapting and there is a risk in switching.

The way I do things, I just use a normal pot (with drain holes) and set it into a container of water (for example, my peace lily is in a normal pot and then I set the pot filled with hydroton into a cool whip container full of water so that the cool whip container can serve as a "water reservoir"). The water can seep up through the drain holes and since I can see how much water is in the container I don't need a meter.
Some people just pot the plant directly into some kind of
clear plastic container (like a deli container or a large plastic drinking glass) with some drain holes punched in at the level you want the water to stay at. You can see a photo of that kind of set up at the below link

For fertilization, I use Dyna Gro Foliage Pro because it has micro nutrients, it's affordable, and a lot of people seem to have good results with doing hydroculture with it.
I have also recently started using Dyna Gro Pro-Tekt (a silicon supplement) mixed WITH foliage pro because there is some reason to believe that it might help with disease resistance.

Here is a link that might be useful: An example of using plastic containers as hydroculture pots!

This post was edited by summersunshine on Tue, Mar 18, 14 at 14:24

This post seems kind of funny to me. I didn't know peace lilies caused so much trouble. I've grown them for years, and they almost never die (lost one to a wick watering malfunction, and two fresh from wally world to some weird stinky probably bacterial infection). Basically I just put the store plant in a new, slightly larger pot with straight miracle gro soil, slip that pot in a cache pot, bottom water and feed, generally with miracle gro houseplant food every other time or so whenever the bottom holes of the plant show dry dirt, about once or twice a week, and rotate the plant when I feel it's gotten lopsided. Then, every two years or so I hack the plant in half and replant (viola, two peace lilies) whenever they fill up their old pots. I guess sometimes I get inattentive and the plant may get floppy, then brown/crinkly on the very, very tips of the leaves occasionally, but I'd never think a rainforest plant that grows in the compost covered understory would need hydro or even a gritty mix. Forgive me, but it feels a little extreme, or at least unnatural...unless you love hydro and/or watering. It's kind of confusing.

I have Peace Lily growing in a pond, the pot sits in the water. I never fertilise because there would be a lot of nutrients provided by the fish and other life forms. Besides, the fertiliser would flush into the pond and cause problems.

i was not sure what was meant by double potting, so i went and looked at the youtube video. it turned out to be cache pot with an inner plastic pot inside.
so now i understand why the peace lily got yellow leaves: when you water you can't see how much water runs out into the liner. you probably do not empty it out fast enough or at all? when water is left habitually standing and keeps the bottom of the pot water logged - roots rot. the same is happening with dracaena.
both of these plants do not like wet feet.
you can use the double potting - but you need to raise the inner pot with some 'feet' above the liner bottom, so that the run off does not touch the bottom of the soil.
i would say that self watering pots were just made for peace lily ;). no need to water often, and still plant gets what is needs. and you don't need to buy aggregate.
but since OP already did hydro and prior plants were happy and she got the aggregate - that would definitely work with this plant.

This post was edited by petrushka on Wed, Mar 19, 14 at 9:31

Petrushka,

" 'inside there is a plastic liner the size of the pot, no saucer at all! I stuffed shallow plastic one in when I repotted it in same pot after I lost the mother Dracina'

I'd take a guess that the plastic liner is impeding drainage & keeping the roots wet. Does the Dracena pot have a liner like that too? "

Am quoting myself above (& the OP) where I asked the same thing you seem to be saying now abt the liner.

Rachel, if your plant is doing well then I wouldn't bother switching to hydroculture. I just think a lot of us find peace lilies kind of tricky even though they are supposed to be "easy" plants. I feel hydroculture takes a lot of guesswork out of growing certain plants like this. I'm also much better with African violets in hydroculture (wicking works too but I actually find hydroculture easier than wicking).

to PG:
yeh, i know . but the OP seemed to be relying on youtube and there is a member here ficuswrangler, so i just wanted to see what's in that video and who's ficuswrangler (still don't know if it's the same person or not). it does not mention that the inner pot has to be either a. elevated or b. the saucer needs to be drained. that is what i was pointing out. considering ficuswrangler is a prof horticulturist, she should've mentioned it in a video.
so if the video was followed to a T - then wet feet are guaranteed.

Below is a link to more info than anyone could ever want on the Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum). The website, Exotic Rainforest, is one of the best when it comes to aroids. Sadly, Steve Lucas passed away but his wonderful website lives on.

Fluoride in tap water causes toxicity in dracaena. It starts as leaf tip burn and slowly causes death to the whole plant.

Carol in Jacksonville

Here is a link that might be useful: Caring for Spathiphyllum - Growing a Peace Lily

Peace lilies are easy if you get the soil right. Where they naturally occur, they develop a different root system than that which they develop in container soils. You simply can't reproduce riparian conditions in a pot, so you need to go with aquaculture or a well aerated, fast-draining medium you can keep moist but not wet. 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers like Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 are an excellent choice. Steve L. and I talked regularly by email and have helped growers sort out their peace lily problems here on the houseplant forum a number of times. We were always on the same page when it came to soils and their importance to a grower's ability to maintain plants in good vitality.

In container culture, you can put two-bit plants in a premium soil and have a beautiful planting; but, if you put a premium plant in a two-bit soil the outcome highly favors disappointment.

Al

i grow all my aroids (healthy and happy) following steve lucas's soil mix formula (see above link) slightly modified to allow water-wicking from the bottom may be for half the time, the rest of the time i water from the top.
it is quite different form 3:1:2 ratio recommended by al.
correct me if i am wrong 3 parts fine bark:1 part peat:2 parts turface or scoria or perlite ?
SL's mix contains far more peat and far less bark then al recommends.
quote:
If you make your own compost start with that for about 1/3 the total mix and modify the rest of the ingredients. Begin by making a mixture of about 20% potting soil, 30% peat moss, roughly 20% Perlite, and 30% orchid potting mix which contains cedar wood chips, charcoal and gravel. To that add any good compost, a few cups of finely cut pieces of sphagnum moss and some cypress mulch. If you have some Vermiculite throw that in as well. This formula isn't critical, just keep it very loose. Mix all of this thoroughly and keep it constantly damp (never dry)once you pot your plant.
---
it's easier to look at ratios, so:
when you add 2 part potting soil+3 part peat+ few cups of sphagnum - you'll get close to 6 part organic ingredient (mostly peat/sphag)
2 part perlite + let's say .5-1 part vermiculate= 2.5-3 parts inert moisture absorbing ingredient .
3 part orchid mix(bark+charcoal added) + cypress mulch = may be about 3-4 part bark.

so that would make
4 parts bark : 6 part peat/sphag/soilless mix : 3 part perlite/turface/scoria. reduced to 2:3:1.5 .
that is quite different from al's 3: 1 :2.

i actually double the amt of perlite to 4 parts and line the pot with coir matting to facilitate wicking action/aeration.
so for me it's 2:3:3 + coir liner.

This post was edited by petrushka on Fri, Mar 21, 14 at 11:41

".... correct me if i am wrong [sic] .....

OK - you're wrong. At this juncture, I think neither of us know what you're talking about. 3:1:2 is a fertilizer ratio very frequently mentioned - nothing to do with any soils I've ever suggested.

Whenever it came to discussions about soils, Steve's offerings were peppered with comments like these:
"In a variety of links on this site [GW] Al offers very good porous soil mixes that can encourage an aroid to live a long time and grow to a larger size as well as remain healthy.

The correct mix and proper watering are far more important than the size of the pot ........
Al, can I suggest you post a link to some of your articles on soil?
Steve
Corresponding Secretary,
The International Aroid Society"

"Again, I have to say I fully agree with Al's writings. Pot size is not nearly as important as soil mixtures and proper water (along with adequate light) are the most important factors to successful growth.
Like many things in house plant growth, pot size is not well understood nor well explained to many growers."

"I have spent a great deal of time studying this subject just as Al has, especially with botanists such as Dr. Tom Croat at the Missouri Botanical Garden and many others. I am also well aware that many people on this and other forums prefer that discussions not be based on science since this is a place where the average grower asks questions. I cannot help but believe many of those people want really good answers to their questions so again my thanks to Al."

"Whatever anyone chooses to do is their business. Any grower is entitled to do anything they choose to do but if my email is any indication there are tons of folks out there that want to know how to grow plants as they grow in nature. We receive about 1/2 million hits to our website every year from all over the world and most of them are seeking scientific answers just as Al provides."

"I just don't know how to explain things without explaining enough so a grower understands both the concept and the background provided by science. You can find some very good discussions on this forum about soil so if this is useless, please try to find a few of them now, mostly written by Al Tapla."

"Just a word of thanks for the information. I have agreed fully with Al's information for many years .....
Thanks again!

Steve Lucas
www.ExoticRainforest.com"
"Al, that is one of the finest growing statements I have ever read! I try to explain this all the time but you have made the statement concisely and quite clearly! Where do people come up with the idea plants "like" to be in such conditions?

Thanks!
Steve"

There are many more .... and I used to email back & forth with Steve from time to time when he had questions or comments about soils. I wish he was still around so he could have offered input on some of the recent soil threads. Steve was always well thought of, and I always appreciated his support.
Al

quote:
fast-draining medium you can keep moist but not wet. 3:1:2 ratio... - i see i misunderstood that ...as it refers to fertilizers on next line. stand corrected.
al,
i am not disputing your correspondence and agreement on soil mixes with steve.
i clearly quoted his recommendation for a soil mix for spath from above link - this is my preferred choice and it is working well.
and i was hoping that you would comment on THAT mix, considering that you have similar views on soil :).
it clearly contains less bark and more peat then most of your bark based mixes, even 1:1:1.

Hi everyone!

Thanks for all your interesting posts and discussions.
I've been reading here on the sidelines.

I'll post something when I get more pics and do things.

I was advised (here but in another topic) to wait until Spring before attempting any more repotting, or otherwise fixing up the plants described. So here I wait, but I need to be certain about everything so I don't have more problems.

Thanks!

Early summer, around Father's Day, is the best time to repot houseplants. They recover much faster from the stress of repotting when A) they have some energy in reserve to spend on regenerating lost rootage, and B) when you repot while the forward looking outlook insofar as the plant's ability to produce energy is optimum. I do all repotting of tropical plants between Father's Day and Independence Day.

Al