Finding one or several yellow leaves on your beautiful Peace Lily can be stressful. Peace Lilies are beautiful and hardy houseplants, so you might immediately panic and wonder if you have done something wrong. And while yellow leaves can be a sign of trouble, often there are simple solutions to fix the problem, especially if you have caught it early enough.
The most common reason that your Peace Lily is developing yellow leaves is a watering issue, where it has either become underwatered or overwatered, or the water has added minerals like fluoride. Peace Lilies are hardy plants, but you may also find yellow leaves or discoloration if there is a pest problem, nutrient deficiencies, transplant shock or even natural leaf death.
In a few cases, you can identify what is causing the yellow leaves by how the leaf is turning yellow, but often the key to discovering why your leaves are changing color is to look for other, more subtle symptoms that will indicate what could be going wrong.
Once you identify why your Peace Lily is turning yellow, you can take steps to fix the problem.
1. Underwatering
Watering is the most common reason your Peace Lily’s leaves will become discolored. While Peace Lilies are hardy houseplants, they can be tricky to water correctly. In the wild, Peace Lilies receive tropical conditions that are warm, moist and humid. They prefer to have moist soil, and if the soil is dry for too long, you will likely notice your leaves begin to turn yellow.
Therefore, if you spot a yellow leaf on your Peace Lily, the first thing you should do is check your soil.
What it looks like:
In addition to yellow leaves, an underwatered Peace Lily will start to droop and curl its leaves. This will help your plant conserve moisture. You may notice yellowing beginning at the tips and forming on the plant’s outer leaves. This is because it allows the extremities to die back to conserve inner growth as much as possible. In addition, your Peace Lily will have dry soil.
How can I fix it?
If you notice that your Peace Lily is underwatered, the first thing to do is to give it a thorough drink. If the soil is bone dry, you may want to water it again after a few minutes since water will often completely pass through dry soil. You can also set your Peace Lily plant in a bucket of water and allow the water to absorb into the soil through the drainage holes.
Once your Peace Lily has enough water, the leaves will perk back up. You may notice an additional leaf or two turn yellow as a delayed reaction, but the yellow leaves will stop.
How to prevent underwatering:
If you constantly struggle with underwatering your Peace Lily, consider purchasing a moisture meter. This will help you to understand when your Peace Lily is ready for a drink. You can water your Peace Lily when your moisture meter reads 1 or 2, or when the soil is nearly dry but not completely dry. In addition, there are a few more things that you can do to ensure that you don’t underwater your Peace Lily too often.
- Check that your Peace Lily isn’t rootbound and repot if needed. If the roots are tightly wrapped, they may absorb the water too quickly.
- If you forget to water your plants on time, you can give your Peace Lily a self-watering pot.
- Adding additional humidity (for example, a humidifier) can give your plant extra moisture and prevent it from drying out so quickly.
- Avoid using a terracotta pot for your Peace Lily since terracotta tends to draw moisture out of the soil.
2. Overwatering and Root Rot
On the other hand, overwatering your Peace Lily can result in a similar problem. This is often very confusing for plant owners since it can be tricky to tell if your Peace Lily received too much water, or not enough. This is because the symptoms often overlap.
When a plant is given too much water, the soil will become saturated and suffocate the roots. As a result, the roots will start to form lesions as the fleshy outer layer of the root begins to break down. When lesions form on the root, bacteria and fungi can be absorbed into the plant, causing it to rot. In addition, your roots will no longer be able to absorb water properly, as they become mushy. So even though your plant has been overwatered, it is also dying of thirst.
What does it look like?
An overwatered Peace Lily can display identical characteristics to an underwatered Peace Lily. The biggest difference is that the soil will also be soaking wet. As a result, your Peace Lily may also start to form yellow leaves at the center, instead of the exterior, and if the rot is severe, the stem may also become mushy. It is common to find that the leaves appear translucent in patches and turn brown.
If you remove your Peace Lily from its soil, the roots will likely have a foul odor. They may also turn brown and will be mushy.
How do I fix it?
If you suspect your Peace Lily has been overwatered, you must act quickly as it can kill your plant. First, remove your Peace Lily from its soil, and examine the roots. Trim away the rotted roots as needed using sterile scissors or pruning shears. Healthy roots should be light-colored and firm to the touch.
If there are very few salvageable healthy roots, I recommend putting your plant in water in a location with bright, indirect light. Healthy roots will develop within a couple of weeks, and then you can repot your Peace Lily in fresh soil again.
On the other hand, if the root rot isn’t severe, you can repot it directly into fresh soil and refrain from watering it for a few days.
How to prevent overwatering?
It is a common misconception that preventing overwatering means only giving your Peace Lily a small sip of water daily rather than a large drink at once. Overwatering refers to the frequency at which you water instead of the volume. If your Peace Lily has the proper soil and pot, you can give it a thorough drink without overwatering it!
Here are some ways to prevent overwatering:
- Only water your Peace Lily when the soil is nearly dry. You can determine this by checking the soil with your finger or with a moisture meter for best results.
- Your Peace Lily must have a pot with drainage holes at the bottom.
- Add pearlite or orchid bark to your Peace Lily’s soil to give it extra drainage.
- Water your Peace Lily thoroughly when the time comes to encourage strong root development.
- Ensure you provide your Peace Lily with enough sunlight and water less frequently during winter.
3. Water (Type)
Not only can the frequency of watering cause the leaves to turn yellow, but the type of water that you use can negatively impact your plant. Many towns will supplement drinking water with minerals to help keep it clean and healthy for human consumption. Fluoride is an example of a mineral found in everyday tap water that Peace Lilies are sensitive to. However, these minerals can cause problems with your houseplants, particularly if they are not exposed to them in excess in the wild.
What does it look like?
If the type of water you are using is causing yellow leaves, you will find that your Peace Lily is developing brown or yellow leaves exclusively at the tips. You may also find that your Peace Lily has stunted growth. There will be no water issues and no signs of pests or diseases.
How do I fix it?
Ideally, you want to give your Peace Lily room-temperature water with no added minerals or chemicals like fluoride. If your tap water isn’t suitable, there are a few options for watering your Peace Lily:
- You can use filtered water on your plant
- If you can collect rainwater
- You can use freshwater aquarium water (which is full of healthy nutrients that plants love, including nitrogen).
4. Natural Leaf Death
Individual leaves do not live forever and eventually will turn yellow and die off over time. While this may cause panic, it is part of a leaf’s natural life cycle.
Older leaves on the outside of your plant may slowly shrink over time as your plant focuses its energy on producing new, healthy growth toward the center of the plant. Eventually, those leaves will turn yellow and eventually drop.
What does it look like?
If a leaf has come to the end of its life cycle, it is on the plant’s exterior. The leaf will have shrunk to a smaller size than the others. Your Peace Lily appears to be happy and healthy, producing new leaves.
How do I fix it?
There is no stopping mother nature’s due course, so you can simply prune that leaf and move on. But, unfortunately, you can also do nothing to prevent these leaves from dying off, so it’s best not to worry too much about it and continue to enjoy your Peace Lily.
5. Pests
Sometimes the cause for yellowing foliage is a bit more sinister, often due to a pest problem. Depending on the type of pest that you have, many will feed off of the nutrients in the foliage, which will eventually cause the leaf to turn yellow and die off.
This can create a problem since plants need their leaves for photosynthesis, and if too many leaves die off, your entire plant will suffer.
What does it look like?
The symptoms often depend on the type of pest that you are dealing with. In many cases, you can find evidence of the insect, and you may even spot the pests themselves working away at your plants. Here are some of the most common pests you may find causing yellow leaves on your Peace Lily:
- Spider Mites are difficult to spot with the naked eye but will create silk-like webs around your Peace Lily stems. They will also produce webs that look like dust on the bottoms of the leaves.
- Thrips tend to be the most difficult to spot, but the telltale sign of thrips is often when new foliage unfurls with yellow spots or damage to the leaves. These small and thin insects prefer to hang out under the leaf. Their larva stage can often appear like tiny specks of dust on the leaves.
- Mealybugs are white, fuzzy-looking insects often mistaken for mold patches. They prefer to hide along the stems and the undersides of the leaves and can occasionally hide underneath the soil.
Pests generally prefer new, young foliage, which is the most tender, so those leaves will often turn yellow first. You may also notice tiny yellow spots or yellowing in random patches or patterns instead of the entire leaf turning yellow.
How do I fix it?
The best way to fix the problem is to eliminate the pests. You can treat your Peace Lily for pests with an insecticidal soap or neem oil. For mealybugs, you can use a Q-tip with isopropyl alcohol and dab the individuals.
When treating your Peace Lily for pests, isolating your plant is always a good idea so the pests do not spread to other plants. You will likely have to repeat treatments several times before fully eliminating them.
6. Nutrient Problems
Occasionally, your Peace Lily may become discolored due to a nutrient deficiency or a fertilizer problem. Nutrients are a key component of plant growth, so if nutrients are imbalanced, they can reflect in the foliage. As a result, plants can develop nutrient deficiencies which can cause the leaves to change color. On the other hand, too much fertilizer can cause fertilizer burn.
What does it look like?
Nutrient deficiencies can cause your leaves to lose their vibrant green color. In addition, you will find stunted growth and even a lack of blooms. This discoloration can be subtle at first and eventually cause the leaves to turn yellow. The soil may also be hard, crumbly or clumpy and smell like dust.
On the other hand, if too much fertilizer has been used, the leaves may turn yellow, orange and even black, beginning at the tip and working its way inward. This may happen after recently fertilizing your plant or if you fertilized your Peace Lily immediately after bringing it home from the greenhouse or garden center.
How do I fix it?
If you suspect your Peace Lily has a nutrient deficiency, you can change the soil for fresh, high-quality soil. A good soil mix will naturally contain plenty of nutrients that your Peace Lily will love. If it is during the spring or summer months and your Peace Lily is actively growing, you can fertilize your plant with a balanced N-P-K ratio (nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium) to give it a balanced feeding. Ensure you read the instructions carefully and dilute the mixture to avoid fertilizer burn.
If you suspect your Peace Lily has fertilizer burn, remove the soil immediately and repot it in fresh soil. Give your plant plenty of bright indirect light and refrain from fertilizing it for the remainder of the growing season.
How to prevent fertilizer and nutrient problems
The best way to prevent nutrient problems is to repot your Peace Lily approximately once a year. When you bring your Peace Lily home, hold off on fertilizing it for the first growing season since many sellers will give their plants plenty of fertilizer. Always follow the directions carefully and it never hurts to dilute your fertilizer with water even more than the label suggests.
7. Humidity Problems
In the wild, Peace Lilies live in tropical conditions along the forest floor. The tree canopies provide a dome of humidity for their soft, tender foliage.
Unless you have a greenhouse set up for your Peace Lily or live in a tropical climate, chances are the natural humidity levels in your space are not the same as in their natural environment. Therefore, if your space is particularly dry, your Peace Lily may develop some yellowing due to a lack of sufficient humidity.
What does it look like?
If your Peace Lily is yellowing due to lack of humidity, the yellowing will begin at the tip of the plant and slowly work its way inward. Those yellow tips will eventually turn brown as that portion of the leaf dies. In addition, you may also notice some signs of stunted growth or slowed bloom production.
The best way to tell if your Peace Lily needs more humidity is to check with a hygrometer. This will give you an accurate reading of the humidity levels in the room. They can easily be purchased online, in a garden center or a big box store.
How do I fix it?
If your Peace Lily needs extra humidity, there are plenty of ways to boost it. The most effective way to increase your humidity levels is to add a humidifier, but if that isn’t in the budget, there are a few more things that you can do:
- Move your Peace Lily to a humid spot in your home, such as a bathroom or a kitchen.
- Keep your plant away from drafty windows, air conditions or dehumidifiers.
- Add a pebble tray with water beneath your Peace Lily so that it can evaporate.
- Place glasses of water (or even in decorative jars) around your plant.
- You can lightly mist your Peace Lily with distilled, room-temperature water (this method is the least effective, but still an option).
- Place your Peace Lily in a greenhouse, cabinet, or a cloche to trap it in its natural humidity.
8. Transplant Shock
While there are several other reasons your Peace Lily may experience shock, the most common is transplant shock. In the wild, plants do not get up and move around, so they aren’t accustomed to having their roots disturbed. When growing a plant in a pot in your home, eventually, it will become too large for its pot and need a new one.
What does it look like?
Immediately following a transplant, your Peace Lily may drop a leaf or two. You also may notice that it stops growing for a few weeks since plants can enter a dormant-like state when they are in shock.
How do I fix it?
The best way to fix transplant shock is to give your Peace Lily plenty of patience to recover. Give them medium-light conditions and plenty of humidity and leave them be until you notice new growth starting to emerge. Do not fertilize them or move them around too much, as this can send them into even more shock or stress.
9. Extreme Shock/Stress
Sometimes extreme conditions can send your Peace Lily into shock, resulting in multiple yellow leaves. This can often happen due to an extreme environmental change or event. Here are a few things that can cause severe shock or stress for your plant:
- Extreme temperature swings, such as leaving your Peace Lily outside or in a car during a deep freeze or excessive heat.
- Injury to the plant, like knocking it over.
- Certain fungal or bacterial diseases can cause your plant to go into shock and cause yellow leaves.
How do I fix it?
If your Peace Lily has experienced an extreme event, the best way to fix the problem is to return it to ideal conditions with medium indirect light and plenty of humidity. Like transplant shock, you will want to hold off fertilizing your Peace Lily and be careful about overwatering your plant during this time. If the stress results from a fungal infection, you can treat your Peace Lily with neem oil to remove the fungus. With time and patience, your Peace Lily can recover.
10. Too Much Light
Peace Lilies are low-light tolerant plants but enjoy medium to bright indirect light. However, if you give your Peace Lily too much or direct light, you may notice the leaves become discolored and experience a bit of sunburn.
What does it look like?
The symptoms of excessive light can vary from a slight discoloration to severe leaf damage. A healthy Peace Lily leaf will be dark, vibrant green. If the leaves appear lighter, almost a lime green color, that is also an indicator that it is getting too much light. You may also notice the soil drying out very quickly.
How to fix it?
The best thing you can do if your Peace Lily gets too much light is move it away from the light source. You can do this by pulling it back from the window where it’s kept or moving it into a different room. You can add a sheer curtain to the window for the light to filter through.
Peace Lilies tend to do best in an eastern-facing window or pulled back from a western-facing or southern-facing window. This is because eastern-facing windows receive morning sunlight which is much gentler than afternoon western exposure and much gentler than southern exposure.
Will the Leaves Change Back to Green?
Unfortunately, once a leaf has turned yellow, that is the start of leaf necrosis. It will eventually die off, and you cannot save the leaf.
In some cases, such as a nutrient deficiency and even some light issues where the leaf has become slightly discolored, it may recover once you have fixed the problem. Otherwise, it is best to trim any leaves that are more than 50% yellow. This will allow your Peace Lily to focus on growing new, healthy leaves.
Final Thoughts
If you find yellow leaves on your Peace Lily, you might be inclined to panic. But often, there is a simple solution, and the problem is rarely catastrophic. While a watering issue is most likely the problem, the key to getting your Peace Lily on the road to recovery is examining the environmental conditions and checking for other symptoms to indicate the problem.
Written By
Andrew Zubek
From Northern Ohio, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Botany and Marketing from Miami University of Ohio. Whether it is in the midwest, along the west coast, in the valleys, in the desert, or in the city, he has unique experience growing in many different microclimates having lived in multiple different climate zones. Helping to establish a landscape company focused on edible landscapes, he leads their nursery cultivating over 100 edible varieties of plants. Receiving his Certified Arborist certificate from the International Society of Arboriculture in 2019, he has spent the past few years focused on trees, especially food producing varieties. He hopes to open the world’s eyes to the importance of respecting our environment and giving back as much as it has given to us.