Took me 3 days to figure out why my peace lily kept drooping after a repot

I swapped it to a bigger pot last month but the leaves kept flopping over no matter what. Thought it was root rot or maybe overwatering so I checked everything twice. Finally noticed the soil I used had way too much peat and was staying soaked for like a week straight. Mixed in some perlite and bark chunks then repotted again Wednesday. Now it's perked right back up and putting out new leaves. Has anyone else had soil mix issues that took forever to diagnose?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaronf403d ago

Three days? Man I feel your pain. I used a bag of "premium" potting mix from the hardware store last spring and it was basically pure peat moss. My spider plants were drooping like crazy and I kept thinking I was overwatering. Took me two full weeks and three repots before I realized the soil was holding water like a sponge. Mixed in a ton of perlite and some orchid bark and they bounced back in like four days. That peat stuff is sneaky because it looks fine when dry but turns into mud. Now I always test a handful of new soil by wetting it and squeezing it before I use it on anything.

nora1842d ago

Is it actually that bad though? I mean yeah peat moss holds water but are we really out here repotting plants three times over it? Ive used bags of peat heavy soil before and sure my pothos looked a little sad but not like death drooping. Maybe your spider plants are just dramatic. I do add perlite to everything too but mostly because it makes me feel like a pro gardener mixing my own dirt. Also who has time to wet and squeeze soil before using it? Like I get it if youre growing something fancy but for basic houseplants a little trial and error is fine. I think people overthink soil when half the time the plant is just adjusting to your house anyway.