How do I help my Peace Lilies?

Question

OK so I have 2 peace lilies that have serious troubles. They were being attaked by my puppies!
I have them in a new (HIGHER) home now but they look pitiful. The puppies ate almost all of the leaves.
The peace lilies are VERY important to me (I recieved them after my granfathers passing) so I really want to save them.
I just repotted/seperated them about a week ago and they were in the bathroom getting soaked and Hubby put them in the floor and the dogs attaked them.

My main question, I guess, is do I remove the chewed up leaves with scissors and just let it try to survive or what do I need to do?

Any help will be appreciated!

Answer 1

Hi, I had the same problem, however it was my baby who tried to eat all the leaves.

If you leave the plants as they are, the edges of the leaves will go brown, however still survive, just not nice looking untill they die off and grow back again.

You could cut the bitten leaves off down at the base of the plant, this will make the plant look pretty bare, however, in the long term it is the best option, as the plant is not giving its water and nutrients, to a dead part of the leaves, intead, it will put it towards the growing of new leaves.

They also seem to be more picky about tap water than some houseplants. One tip is to fill your watering can about two days before planning to water your houseplants. Some of the Chlorine will evaporate. That is unless you are lucky enough to have a rain water collector. Also, do a complete flush twice a year by watering until about a gallon of water runs out of the bottom. Mine starts to get brown tips if I don't follow these rules.

Mine gets water every 7 to 8 days in the summer (I stick with plants that can be watered on weekly, bi-weekly intervals). You can check yours daily to figure out when it needs water. The day that you can stick your finger in the pot about two inches and feel no moisture is when to water it.

The good thing about Peace Lilies is that they will tell you when they are dehydrated. As long as you water them the minute you see them drooping, they won't be harmed. Maybe a little stressed, but as long as you don't do it often, they will never show any effects.

One other sure fire way to test your plant to find out how when to water is to leave it alone until it droops a bit. Water it well once, then wait while counting the days. Watch it every day and when you see it is drooping, water it. If it takes 12 days, water it on the 8th day from now on. Basically cut 1/4 off the time and then water it then.

Hope this makes sense. Good Luck!

Answer 2

Ok, it's a bit of bad luck that you seperated the plant before it got eaten because they will be more than a little traumatised. Yes, it's safe to prune them back (gently!), keep it out of direct sunlight and don't allow it to get too wet or too dry. I don't know how good your chances are, but tidying them up a bit with a pair of scissors won't do any more harm than has already been done. Keep in mind it will take quite a while for them to come back around, so don't be in a hurry to throw them out if they don't sprout shoots straight away. A bit of TLC and they might be ok. Good Luck! PS - be careful with your puppies - alot if lillies are poisonous to dogs, you were very lucky these aren't.

Answer 3

YES, REMOVE DAMAGED LEAVES, WATER AND LEAVE TO DRY, THEN SOAK. PEACE LILIES HAVE BEEN THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. I CAN GROW ANYTHING BUT I HAD PEACE LILIES WHEN MOM DIED AND THEY WOULD NOT BLOOM AFTER I BROUGHT THEM HOME. CONTACT THE LOCAL LANDSCAPING COMPANY, THEY WILL TELL YOU.