My peace lily drooped so bad I thought it was dead last Tuesday

Got home from work and found it completely flat, leaves touching the counter. Forgot to water it for 6 days straight. I panicked, gave it a deep soak in the kitchen sink, and by Friday morning it was standing tall again. Anyone else have a plant bounce back like that after you thought you killed it?

3 comments

3 Comments

fisher.adam13d agoTop Commenter

Probably just watered it too much the first time, thats why it bounced back.

lucaslee13d ago

Funny you say that, but I gotta disagree. Look at how fast that thing bounced back. Overwatering usually sticks around for weeks with yellow leaves and root rot smell. If it was overwatered, that deep soak would have made it worse, not better. A real overwatered peace lily looks sad and floppy but the stems stay kinda firm and green for a while before going bad. The fact that it went completely limp and then perked up in a day says thirst to me. Your theory works if the first watering was barely anything, but if you really drenched it initially then it was just underwatered from the start.

mark36113d ago

Oh man, I mean that's just how peace lilies are, right? They're total drama queens. But I gotta say, I don't think overwatering was the issue here - if you forgot it for 6 days and it bounced back after a deep soak, that's textbook underwatering. They literally droop to tell you they're thirsty, not because they got too much water. Overwatered ones usually get yellow leaves and mushy stems, not the dramatic flat collapse thing. Yours just needed a drink, plain and simple. Glad it perked back up though, those things are tough once you figure out their little tantrums.