PlantRx

Peace lily brown tips

By Karim DiabatePublished How these guides are built

Brown tips on a peace lily are rarely a disease. They are a record of something small going slightly wrong repeatedly, and the tip is simply the part of the leaf furthest from the roots, so it is the first tissue to be given up.

A healthy Peace Lily, photographed for reference
A healthy peace lily for comparison. This is a reference photo, not a picture of the problem. Photo by W.carter (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

What it could be, and how to tell

These look alike in a photograph, so each one below lists what you would ALSO see if that is the cause. Work down the list and stop at the one where the other symptoms match too.

most common

1. Minerals in tap water

What else you would see

  • brown confined to the tips and the outer edge
  • a white crust on the soil surface or the pot rim
  • the plant otherwise growing well and flowering
How to confirm it: Tip-only browning on a plant that is otherwise thriving, especially in a hard water area.

What to do

  1. Switch to filtered, distilled or rainwater.
  2. Flush the pot periodically with a large volume of water to carry salts out through the drainage holes.
  3. Trim the brown at an angle with clean scissors, leaving a hairline of brown behind.
common

2. Fertiliser salt buildup

What else you would see

  • crust around the rim or on the soil
  • browning that worsened after a feeding routine started
  • many leaves affected at once
How to confirm it: Visible crust plus a feeding history.

What to do

  1. Flush the pot thoroughly with plain water.
  2. Feed less often, at the dilution given on the label of the product you use.
common

3. Dry air

What else you would see

  • worse in winter with the heating on
  • a radiator, vent or draught nearby
  • other plants in the room showing crisp edges too
How to confirm it: Seasonal onset with the heating, affecting more than one plant.

What to do

  1. Move it away from heat sources and draughts.
  2. Group plants or use a humidity tray. Peace lilies come from humid forest floors.
common

4. Inconsistent watering

What else you would see

  • a pattern of full collapse followed by a heavy soak
  • tips browning a few days after each collapse
  • some leaves yellowing as well
How to confirm it: Brown tips appearing shortly after each dramatic wilt.

What to do

  1. Water when the top inch is dry rather than waiting for the plant to fall over.
  2. Water thoroughly each time so the whole root ball is wetted, not just the surface.

Common questions

Should I cut the brown tips off my peace lily?

For appearance, yes. Cut at an angle to follow the leaf shape and leave a sliver of brown, because cutting into living tissue produces a new brown edge. If a whole leaf is more brown than green, take the stalk off at the base instead.

Do brown tips mean I am overwatering or underwatering?

Either can do it, which is why the tips alone are not enough to diagnose from. Check the soil and the roots. Overwatering usually brings yellowing and limpness with it, underwatering brings collapse and crisp edges further down the leaf.

Is a peace lily with brown tips still safe around pets?

We never tell you a plant is safe around a pet or a child, and brown tips make no difference to that. Peace lilies are widely listed as harmful to pets if chewed. If an animal or child may have chewed any part of one, contact a vet, or Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222 in the US, straight away.

Before you act on any of this

This is general plant care guidance for a plant, not advice about people or animals. We never tell you whether a plant is safe to eat or touch, and we never tell you a plant is safe for a child or a pet. If a child or animal may have eaten any part of a plant, contact Poison Control (US 1-800-222-1222) or a vet immediately rather than reading further.

Treatment advice here is deliberately category level. We do not give product names, mixing ratios or application intervals. Whatever the label on the product in your hand says is the instruction that counts, and following it is your responsibility.

Where this comes from

The general horticultural facts behind this differential come from published university extension and Royal Horticultural Society guidance. What is specific to this plant, and the order the causes are ranked in, is ours, and the methodology page says where that reasoning stops being reliable.

Other peace lily problems

Related problems

Peace lily yellow leavesPeace lily droopingSpider plant brown tips

Not sure which one it is?

PlantRx is an iPhone app that reads the photo and gives you the same kind of ranked differential you just read, for your plant specifically, with the evidence it based each answer on. The first diagnosis is free, in full. There is no subscription and no account.

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