If your peace lily has brown tips, then you may be wondering what you’re doing wrong. Even after giving them lots of care and attention, they can still end up with something wrong with them you struggle to fix.
However, don’t worry! In this article, you’ll find out why your peace lilies tips are turning brown and, more importantly, what you can do to fix them! So keep reading to find out!
Why Are Your Peace Lilies Tips Turning Brown?
There are a whole number of reasons your peace lilies tips might be turning brown. So you should think about your peace lilies environment and care routine as you’re going through this list!
Here are all the different reasons!
Overwatering
One reason that your peace lilies tips could be going brown is due to overwatering. If your peace lily has been overwatered, not only will the tip of the plant be brown, but you’ll also notice your plant feels soft and limp as well.
The reason overwatering causes brown tips in peace lilies is because the amount of aeration and oxygen in the soil is drastically reduced. As well as this, when the soil has too much water in it, nutrients can often be washed away too fast, meaning your peace lily isn’t getting enough!
Underwatering
On the flipside, underwatering can also be a reason that your peace lilies tips are turning brown as well. The only difference is if you’re underwatering your peace lily, you may notice that the leaf feels dry and crispy instead of soft and limp.
Once again, the reason that underwatering can cause the tips of your peace lilies plants to turn brown is that they simply won’t be able to get enough nutrients.
Water Quality Issues
If you’re using water straight from the tap, this could be another reason that your peace lilies leaves are turning brown. Tap water is full of chemicals that aren’t good for peace lilies, such as fluoride and chlorine.
When a lot of these chemicals are present in the soil, it can be damaging to your peace lily.
A Drainage Problem
When it comes to watering your peace lily, it might not even be that you’re watering them too much or too little. Instead, it could be because there’s a problem with the drainage. When water can’t drain through your soil or drains too fast, it’s essentially going to cause the same problems as underwatering and overwatering.
Too Much Fertilizer
Nutrient burn is another reason that your peace lilies tips may be turning brown, and it’s caused by too many nutrients in the soil. As well as this, when there are too many nutrients in the soil, it can reduce the amount of water your peace lily is able to absorb.
Excess Heat
Sometimes when the environment around your peace lily is too hot, it can result in the tips turning brown as well. And remember, even if you think that your house isn’t too hot. If your peace lily is near an open window or radiator, that specific area might be a lot hotter.
Pests
Lastly, certain pests such as spider mites could be the cause of your peace lily’s tips turning brown. When they feed off your plant, they’re going to suck all the nutrients out of it, which can result in the tips going brown. You’ll also notice that the leaves are losing a lot of their vigor and life as well.
How Do You Fix Brown Tips On A Peace Lily
If you’ve found out what the causes of the brown tips on your peace lily are, then you can now start to fix the issues causing them! So here are all the different things you can try!
Water Them Correctly
Of course, the easiest thing you can do is make sure you’re watering your peace lilies correctly. There’s a real sweet spot in between too much or too little, and when you hit it, your peace lilies will flourish!
To get the correct amount of water, you should poke your finger into the soil. If you notice at a knuckle deep the soil is moist, your peace lily doesn’t need watering, and if it’s too dry, then it’s time to water them!
As well as water them, you should also make sure you’re misting your peace lily 2-3 times a week to make sure they’re not losing too much water from their leaves as well!
Use The Right Water
You should also make sure you’re using the right water on your peace lilies as well. If you’re going to use tap water, make sure you’re letting it sit for 24 hours before giving it to your plant. This way, you can make sure that all the chemicals in it have dissipated.
Failing this, you can also use rainwater to water your peace lilies as well as distilled water!
Remove Salts And Chemicals
If you’ve been using regular tap water a lot, or you think a build-up of salt and chemicals has occurred in the soil, then you’ll need to remove as much as possible. Fortunately, this is quite a simple process.
- First of all, allow the soil of your peace lily to dry out to the point your plant is almost wilting.
- Once you’ve done this, water the soil just enough that it’s moist, but so no water is leaving the drainage holes.
- Then wait 20 minutes.
- After you’ve waited, pour more water through, but this time allow about 30% of the water to exit through the drainage holes at the bottom and get rid of it.
Doing this will allow you to flush out a lot of the harmful chemicals and salt in the soil, which not only will improve the health of the roots, but you’ll also notice the foliage of your peace lily improves as well. It might even help induce blooming if your peace lily is mature enough.
Dilute Your Fertilizer
Peace lilies aren’t a plant that needs to be fertilized too much. In fact, the only time you really need to fertilize them is spring to early summer, when their growth is the most active.
Another thing to remember is that fertilizers are often too strong for peace lilies, so before applying them, you should make sure you dilute them by 50-75%.
And lastly, you only need to fertilize your peace lily every 4-6 weeks.
Ensure There’s Proper Drainage
You should also ensure that water is able to drain from your pot properly. The obvious answer to this is making sure that the pot has holes in the bottom; if you’re keeping the pot in a saucer, make sure you’re emptying it, so the soil doesn’t become waterlogged. But it’s not the only thing you should be doing.
Use The Right Soil Mix
As well as this, you should pick the soil mix you use carefully. If it’s too compact, it will end up holding too much water. But if it’s too loose, too much water will end up seeping out before your lily has a chance to use it.
(Want to know more about what makes the perfect soil mix for peace lilies?)
The Right Pot Material
You should also make sure your pot is made from the right material. Things like clay are a little more porous, allowing water to escape easier, whereas plastic pots can often hold water too successfully.
Remove Any Pests
And obviously, it goes without saying, if you notice any pests on your peace lilies, you’ll need to make sure you’re removing them. If you notice there are only a few, you can just pick them off by hand.
However, if you notice a few, there are other things you can try. First of all, you can mix neem oil with water or dishwashing soap with water and spray it over your peace lily. Make sure you coat the whole plant to including the underside of the leaves to ensure you kill them all!
Keep The Temperature Perfect
And lastly, keep the temperature perfect. You should make sure you’re keeping your peace lily somewhere the temperature doesn’t fluctuate at all and where it stays between 68-85°F. So make sure you’re keeping it away from any heat sources that could make it too hot!
Why Does Your Variegated Peace Lily Have Brown Tips?
Excess heat, pests, underwatering, overwatering, poor water, poor drainage, and excess fertilizer can all cause brown tips in variegated peace lilies. However, because they have less chlorophyll, the most likely reason is that they’re not getting enough light.
Unlike normal peace lilies that need a low-moderate amount of light every day. Variegated peace lilies will need a moderate-high amount of sunlight every day.
Should You Cut The Brown Tip Off A Peace Lily?
Yes, you should always try to remove the brown tips from your peace lily if you notice them. And when you’re removing them, make sure the cut is below the tip, so the new tip will come back green and not brown.
And when you’re cutting your peace lily, make sure you’re disinfecting your tools before and after to reduce the spread of any parasites, bacterial or fungal infections.
Recap
As you can see, there is a whole range of things that can cause brown tips in your peace lily, but fortunately, there are a whole bunch of things you can do to fix them as well! All in all, general good care of your peace lily should prevent this from happening, so if you follow the steps above, you won’t have to worry!
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