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Why Does My Peace Lily Have Brown Tips & How to Fix Them?

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As a gardening enthusiast, you must have heard about the gorgeous Peace lily plant. Scientifically known as Spathiphyllum, this indoor flowering herbaceous perennial is commonly grown as an ornamental houseplant.

It gives a breathtaking look because of the striking contrast between its dark green broad foliage and its light-colored spathe of fragrant flowers.

Occasionally, due to our slight neglect, or I must say, due to our mistakes, these beautiful green Peace lilies can show browning of the leaf tips.

Why does my peace lily have brown tips
Why are my Peace lily leaves turning brown and yellow at the tips? – Image via Reddit.

If you are in a parallel situation, you must be wondering, “why does my Peace lily have brown tips?”

Well, I am here to answer your valuable question.

Why does my Peace lily have brown tips, you say? In today’s article, you will get to know all of the possible reasons that can cause the tips of leaves in your Peace lily to turn brown.

So, without further ado, let’s get straight into our topic.

Why Does My Peace Lily Have Brown Tips? – Reasons

The most common reasons why your Peace lily has brown tips are:

  • Under- or over-watering.
  • Less humidity.
  • Over-fertilization.
  • Sunburn.

Why Does My Peace Lily Have Brown Tips? – Fixes

Let us start with the first one.

Improper Watering

Underwatering is one of the most probable causes of a Peace lily having brown tips. While on the other hand, overwatering can also cause the same problem.

Let me elaborate further on the two mistakes.

Underwatering your plant is simple. Underwatering occurs when you don’t care to give your plant water for a very long time. Or, you allow extended periods of wilting in between waterings.

In both circumstances, the plant is underwatered and suffers the usual symptoms associated with underwatering, which in the case of Peace lily is the browning of leaf tips and edges.

Overwatering, on the other hand, is not that simple. It doesn’t necessarily mean giving your plant loads of water at a single time. It indicates that the soil around your plant remains constantly moist or soggy due to poor drainage or the absence of drainage holes.

This can result in waterlogging and root rot. A symptom of this is that the leaves turn brown or yellow. Either as a whole or only at the tips and edges.

You can browse through this article to know all about root rot and how to treat it.

Now, let us see how you can properly water Peace lilies.

How to Properly Water Peace Lily Plants?

There is no perfect watering schedule that I can give you for a particular plant because watering solely depends upon the environmental conditions and the temperature that you provide to the plant.

It also depends upon the potting mix and the time of year. Therefore, you will get a proper watering schedule with the trial-and-error method.

“I recommend you to wait for the soil/potting mix to get half dry before giving your Peace lilies another shot of hydration.”

And try to use distilled water. I’ll explain it further in the article.

“Thoroughly water your plants so that the soil gets equally moist. Use a well-draining potting mix and a pot with drainage holes at the bottom.”

Here, you have the first answer to “why does my Peace lily have brown tips?” Let’s head to the next one.

Less Humidity

The Peace lily is a moisture-loving plant. However, it can also thrive in moderate humidity levels.

If the moisture levels go down their desired value, your Peace lilies can show the browning of leaf tips or edges.

We can get an accurate idea of the humidity range best for the Peace lily plant by looking at the native regions.

Ideal Humidity Levels for Peace Lily Plant

Peace lily plants are native to the tropical regions of Central and South America.

If we look at the stats,

Average humidity levels in Mexico. - Why does my peace lily have brown tips?
Average relative humidity in Mexico City, Mexico. – Image via weather-and-climate.com.

As we can see in the above picture, the average humidity level in the native areas of Peace lily plants is around 60%.

“So, an ideal humidity level for a Peace lily plant to thrive at its maximum potential would be 50-65%. Your Peace lily will suffer if you keep it at a lesser humidity level. Moisture levels less than 40% can cause its leaf tips to turn brown.”

What Can You Do to Increase Humidity Levels Around Your Peace Lily Plant?

There are various methods to increase your household humidity levels.

  • If you live in dry areas where the humidity levels are around 40%, you might have to pick up a humidifier.
  • Weekly misting can really help your moisture-loving plants.
  • It is better to place your tropical plants near a bathroom or a kitchen because these areas have more water vapors present in the air.
  • You can also group all your moisture-loving plants together in one place.
  • Placing your potted plants on a water saucer is also a great way to increase the humidity levels.

Over-fertilization

Another answer to “why does my Peace lily have brown tips?” can be over-fertilization.

In fact, in most plants, over-fertilization is one of the most common causes of leaf tips turning brown.

Over-fertilization causes toxic salts build-up in the potting soil and damages the plant roots. These damaged/wrinkled roots are unable to absorb moisture. And the nutrients first absorbed in higher quantity result in a condition called “leaf burn.”

In this condition, the leaves mostly turn yellow with brown tips and edges.

How to Fix Over-fertilization In Peace Lily Plants?

The easiest method to fix over-fertilized plants is repotting.

“Use a new and fresh potting mix according to the nature of your plant. Peace lilies prefer a well-draining potting mix with adequate organic components.”

Jump to this article to know how you can make a perfect potting mix for your Peace lily plant.

Also, it is best to use distilled water while watering your Peace lily because the calcium and magnesium ions can enhance the toxicity and alter the soil’s pH level.

If you use tap water to water your plants, let it stay open for some time so that the chlorine in it diffuses out.

“The other method, or a proper method, that you can use to fix an over-fertilized plant is called leaching. In this method, we use large quantities of water to pour into our plants so that the excess number of soluble salts are washed out.”

Sunburn

And last but not least, the thing that can be a reason for the browning of leaf tips can be excessive sunlight.

The Peace lily is a type of plant that thrives in partial shade. Therefore, it is best to provide it with bright, indirect light.

If you place it under direct sunlight, it will effortlessly scorch the leaves, causing browning or sunburn.

Let us see the proper lighting conditions for your Peace lily plants.

Best Lighting Conditions for Your Peace Lily Plants

Peace lilies thrive best in medium to bright indirect or filtered sunlight.

“In outdoor settings, you have to use sunshades to protect your plants from the harsh rays of the midday sun.”

“On the other hand, if you have your Peace lily indoors, the best place to house your plant is an east- or west-facing window.”

Depending upon the day or the time of year, you can move it a little away from the window so that direct rays of the sun cannot touch the foliage. The same goes for the south-facing windows.


Conclusion

With all that said, I hope you got your answer to “why does my Peace lily have brown tips?” If yes, consider sharing this article with your friends and family.

Peace lilies are one of the most stunning indoor ornamental plants from the family Araceae. The gorgeous light-colored spathe blooming in the from spadix looks completely heart-melting.

Feel free to update us with the health of your beautiful Peace lily.

Happy Planting!

Regards,

Mahad H.