13 Causes of Peace Lily Yellow Leaves & How to Fix Them | Reasons for Yellow Leaves in Peace Lily

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Peace Lily is a magnificient plant with glossy, dark-green leaves which may turn yellow if the right growing conditions are not provided like lighting, watering, humidity, feeding and temperature among others.

Peace Lily thrives in bright, indirect light away from direct sunlight, average warmth, moderate humidity and moderately moist, fertile, well-drained soil during the growing season that are similar to those of its native tropical conditions. Read more on how to grow and care for Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii).

Failure to meet these requirements may cause the Peace Lily leaves to turn yellow. Below are 13 causes of yellow leaves in Peace Lily and how to fix them.

13 Reasons Peace Lily Leaves are Turning Yellow & How to Fix Them

1. Poor lighting

Being an understory plant, Peace Lily prefers dappled light away from direct sunlight. Enough light is required for photosynthesis, the process of food making in plants, which is needed for growth and energy for the plant.

Peace Lily can tolerate low light but too little light means that the plant cannot make adequate food for growth and development which causes the leaves to begin dying where they turn yellow, then brown and eventually die.

Though Peace Lily can withstand some morning sunlight. Too bright light or hot direct sunshine will cause the plant to lose the dark-green leaf color, develop yellowish leaves and brown sunscorch marks.

How to fix it

Position your Peace Lily in a spot where it will receive bright, indirect light or instal a grow light if the natural lighting is not enough. Take a look at these full spectrum grow lights on Amazon.

Where the light is too bright, place the plant in a more shaded place or shield it from direct sunlight by installing a light curtain to filter the light. Check out this guide on understanding light for houseplants.

2. Soil quality

Peace Lily requires free-draining soil, therefore, poor quality soil does not drain easily and will become compacted or soggy which will lead to reduced growth, yellowing of leaves and death.

How to fix it

Grow your Peace Lily in fertile, well-drained soils will not get soggy while providing the required nutrients. Check out these 9 Best Potting Mixes for Peace Lily Grown Indoors.

3. Too low humidity

Peace Lily grows best in moderate air humidity, therefore, too low air humidity will cause the plant to develop yellow leaves and may die if not corrected.

How to fix it

To raise humidity, grow the Peace Lily in a bathroom and other humid areas in the home, set the pot on a wet pebble tray or use a cool mist humidifier. Learn more on how to increase humidity for houseplants.

4. Pest infestations

Peace Lily is fairly resistant to pests. However, weak plants can be infested by aphids, spider mites, mealy bugs and fungus gnats. The sap-sucking insects will cause wilting, reduced growth and yellowing of leaves.

How to fix it

Always make sure that the Peace Lily is healthy at all times by giving it with the proper growing conditions. Minimize pest infestations by increasing the humidity as the pests are prevalent in dry conditions.

Maintain the plant well pruned by removing spent flowers, dead and yellow foliage to minimize pest infestations. Cut the leaves with a clean sharp knife or scissors as close to the base as possible. Read more on how to prune houseplants.

Seperate the affected plant away from the rest of the plants to reduce spread and treat it appropriately with an insecticidal soap or neem oil to get rid of the pests. Make sure to cover the entire plant.

5. Root-rot disease

Peace Lily is prone to root-rot which is enhanced by soggy soil and is characterized by wilting, drooping and yellowing leaves.

How to fix it

Slip the Peace Lily out of its pot and inspect the roots. Brown-black mushy roots indicate root-rot, trim them off and treat the healthy roots with a copper-based fungicidal solution.

Disinfect the pot with the fungicidal solution or use a fresh pot to repot the plant in fresh, free-draining soil. Keep the plant dry for some time before resuming watering.

Ensure that the pot has a drainage hole and the soil is free-draining to prevent it from getting soggy in the future. Reduce watering during the cold season as growth is minimal at this time, therefore, the plant does not require much water.

6. Improper feeding

Overfeeding a Peace Lily will cause the roots to die due to fertilizer burn. If the roots die, they cannot take up nutrients and water required for photosynthesis, thus the plant begins to die and the leaves turn yellow.

If the plant is underfed, the plant is not getting enough nutrients needed for growth, therefore, the leaves turn yellow and die. A lack of micronutrients like Magnesium and Iron in the soil for will cause the deep-green leaves to turn yellow.

How to fix it

Feed your Peace Lily once a month during the growing season with a phosphorous-rich, water-soluble fertilizer which contains micronutrients for proper growth. Withhold feeding in the cold season as growth is minimal and feeding at this time can lead to fertilizer burn, yellowing and death of the plant. Learn more on how to feed houseplants.

7. Underwatering

Underwatering means that there is too little moisture in the soil for the Peace Lily to take up to the leaves for photosynthesis, to make food for growth of the plant.

Lack of adequate food for growth and other processes in the plant will cause the plant to begin to die from the leaves which turn yellow, brown and eventually die.

How to fix it

Peace Lily grows best when the soil is kept moderately moist at all times during the growing season. Water the plant thoroughly during the growing season until water comes out through the drainage holes.

Always water the plant when the top 2-3 inches of soil begin to dry out to keep the soil moderately moist during the growing season.

Should you forget to water your plant, thoroughly water the plant and mist the leaves immediately and it should perk up in a short time.

Lessen watering in the cold season as growth is minimal at this time but do not allow the soil to dry out completely for prolonged periods of time.

8. Overwatering

Overwatering results in soggy soil which leads to the death of the roots due to lack of oxygen. When the roots die, the Peace Lily cannot take up water and therefore it cannot make food for growth and energy.

How to fix it

Peace Lily thrives in moderately moist soil at all times during the growing season. Allow the top 2-3 inches of soil to dry out between waterings.

Decrease watering in the cold season but do not allow the soil to dry out completely. Ensure also that the pot has a drainage hole and that the soil is free-drainingg to prevent it from getting soggy. Learn more on how to water indoor plants the right way.

9. Wrong temperature

Peace Lily does well under an average warmth within the range of 16-28⁰C. Extreme temperatures, either too cold or too hot will reduce growth which will cause the leaves to start turning yellow.

Sudden drops in temperature due to cold drafts will lead to reduced growth which will cause yellowing and death of the plant. On the other hand, very high temperatures will cause the plant to become dehydrated which causes the leaves to turn yellow and die.

How to fix it

Move the Peace Lily away from cold drafts like windy windows and doors, air conditioning units and other drafty areas to avoid exposing the plant to extremely low temperatures. Place the plant away from hot surfaces, heating units, hot stoves and other hot places to avoid extremely high temperatures. Check out this guide on understanding temperature for houseplants.

10. Water Quality

Consistently watering Peace Lily with too cold water will cause plant shock in this tropical plant and lead to reduced growth, yellowing leaves and eventual death of the plant.

Peace Lily is sensitive to salts and chemicals dissolved in water and respond with brown leaf tips, yellowing and death of the plant.

How to fix it

Use room temperature water for the Peace Lily. Avoid watering it consistently with too cold water to prevent reduced growth and death of the plant. Water the plant with chlorine-free like rain water or any chlorine-free water that is available to you.

Occasionally, flush out accumulated chemicals (salts) from the soil by running a stream of water through the soil. Allow the stream of water to run for some time and repeat the process several times.

11. Extremely pot-bound plant

Peace Lily grows best when slightly pot-bound but when it becomes extremely pot-bound the leaves begins to wilt, droop, yellow and eventually die.

The reason is that when the roots have filled the pot, there is very little soil to hold water when the plant is watered.

If there is too little water in the soil for the plant to take up to the leaves for photosynthesis, the plant cannot make enough food for growth and the leaves begin to turn yellow.

How to fix it

Check the bottom of the pot, if a lot of roots are growing through the drainage hole, repot the Peace Lily into a pot one size larger than the current one or divide it into several sections to propagate new plants.

Repot the plant at the beginning of the growing season when it becomes extremely pot-bound. Ensure that the pot has a drainage hole and the soil is free-draining.

12. Repotting shock

Repotting Peace Lily may cause it some shock which may lead to some leaves wilting and turning yellow before it can adjust the new growing conditions.

How to fix it

To minimize repotting shock for the Peace Lily, water the plant thoroughly one day before repotting as a well hydrated plant experiences less shock and is easier to divide.

Avoid making too many changes at once. For instance, after repotting, maintain the plant in the same spot until it is well established before moving it to a new location.

13. Age of the leaves

As the Peace Lily leaves mature, the older leaves turn yellow and die. Therefore, do not be alarmed, if one or two leaves yellow as this is a natural process.

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