What to Do If Peace Lily Roots Rot in Water Culture? Latest Treatment Methods Explained

Water-cultured peace lilies are known as “lazy person's flowers” for being low-effort and convenient, and daily care is very easy, but root rot often occurs because of too little management. In fact, root rot in water-cultured peace lilies is caused by bacteria and the like. Usually, when they have just been put in water and have not yet grown water roots, the water should be changed once a day, and after the roots have grown, once every 7 days to half a month. Now let's take a look together at what to do if a water-cultured peace lily's roots rot!

Why do water-cultured peace lilies get root rot?

1. Water quality reasons: Water-cultured peace lilies should use water that has been left to stand for several days. When roots are first forming, do not add nutrient solution, to prevent the water quality from deteriorating. After the roots have grown, be sure to promptly remove green algae, bacteria, and so on from the water roots (rinse or disinfect).

2. Water level problem: The grown roots of a water-cultured peace lily cannot be completely submerged underwater; part of them must be exposed above the water surface to breathe, with about 1/3 exposed above the water surface. If they are completely submerged underwater, the roots will very likely be “suffocated” due to lack of oxygen.

3. Container contamination: If the container itself is not clean when water-culturing a peace lily, harmful bacteria will breed, which can also cause root rot. In this case, thoroughly wash the container and soak it in potassium permanganate solution to disinfect it.

What to do if a water-cultured peace lily's roots rot?

1. First wash the rotten roots and old roots, cut them off with a sharp knife, leaving only the white roots, disinfect with potassium permanganate solution, and then let them dry in a ventilated place for one to two days.

2. Remove yellow leaves, old leaves, and rotten leaves, fix the base of the peace lily with clay pebbles, and keep the water level at the bottom of the roots. Right after changing the water, do not add nutrient solution at first; let it recover for a while.

3. Once the peace lily no longer has root rot, drip 2 drops of water-culture nutrient solution, place it in a shaded spot, and wait for new water roots to grow. Tap water is best left to stand for several days. Change the water about once every 3 to 4 days. If green moss appears around the glass container, clean it off.

If a peace lily's roots have rotted, can it still be saved?

1. Mild root rot: When a peace lily has mild root rot, wash the roots clean. If only a little rot has appeared at the bottom and most of the root hairs are white, this situation is absolutely no problem and it can be saved.

2. Moderate root rot: The peace lily has fewer roots and the rot is relatively severe, but there are still a small number of roots that have grown (hard ones). In this case, cut off all the rotten parts, disinfect, and replant. More than 80% can be saved.

3. Severe rot: The entire root system of the peace lily has turned black and soft, and the part where the roots connect to the stem is also severely rotted. In this case, you can only treat a dead horse as if it were alive, but you must be mentally prepared, because more than 80% cannot be saved!