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Pot plant with browning leaves-what to do.

4 replies

edlyu · 14/10/2013 15:44

I was given this plant in June . The plant was from M&S but I lost the card that came with it so no idea of growing conditions etc.

I think it may be a lily.It has long thin leaves and I think it was supposed to flower but cant remember if it did or not (very busy summer Smile. Nothing spectacular anyway.

It has never thrived since it arrived .I have changed its position a couple of times but nothing seems to have helped. It gets new leaves but they very quickly get brown at the ends first then get progressively more brown until the whole leaf is dead . I take the dead leaves off but have no clue about what else to do. Currently it has about 8 leaves on it.
Is it worth saving? And if so how can I help it.

TIA

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Poledra · 14/10/2013 15:46

In my house - I'd just put it out of its misery. Houseplants just lose the will to live the minute they come through the door...

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Showtime · 14/10/2013 16:45

It must be depressing to live with a sick plant, although normally I'd check the roots and give it a feed and some time outdoors in the next shower, it does seem that this is past recovery - I'd bin it.

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OnTheBottomWithAWomansWeekly · 14/10/2013 16:52

Is it over or under watered? Both can cause dead leaves.

Stick your finger in the soil - is it sopping wet, or bone dry?

If sopping wet, you might be best to v gently take it out of the pot, and repot it with fresh, not too wet soil, in a pot with holes in the bottom, and a saucer. Then, water it by checking when the soil appears dry (stick the finger in again to check it) - stopping the watering when moisture appears in the saucer.

If bone dry, you may need to immerse the full pot in a sinkful of water (you may have to hold it under a bit till all the air bubbles stop coming to the surface). Then just make sure it doesn't dry out too much. Peat moss based compost is notoriously hard to re-wet if it gets too dry.

Also, make sure it is getting plenty of natural light. Apparently natural light decreases significantly even 3 feet from a window. And is it over a radiator/heat source? Plants hate that!

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edlyu · 14/10/2013 17:12

Ive had a bit more of a search to find out the plant. I think its a peace lily .I was told it was a Calla lily but the leaves are long rather than round.

If it is a peace lily then it seems that the worst thing to do is have it in sunlight .Which is where it was -on a south facing windowsill. I put it there as it didnt like the north facing sideboard it was on before. Or the internal ,away from draughts, corner before that.Hmm

I cant tell about the water situation just now as I watered all the plants just before posting this thread .Everything else is doing fine -but they are all quite hardy plants -cyclamen ,christmas cactus and money plants mainly.

I think it might just be too delicate for me Sad

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