If you have had a Peace Lily for quite some time, you may have eventually run into the issue of the Peace Lily turning black, developing black leaves or black spots.
While this can mean that the plant is nearing the end of it’s life cycle, most of the time that is not the case.
There can be several reasons why you may notice this change in color and all of them will be due to improper care or lack of paying attention to your Peace Lily.
So with that said, here are your common culprits when you have discovered your Peace lily leaves turning black or if you notice black spots throughout.
Overwatering
Probably the most common reason for black leaves or black spots on a Peace Lily will be caused by overwatering this plant.
It is a very easy mistake to make if you’re not feeling the soil before watering.
You really want the soil to be near entirely dry before watering this plant as if you water too much you run the chance of root rot occurring.
A good way to tell if the black spots on your Peace Lily are from rot is by feeling the stem and or leaves.
If they feel very soft or mushy then the next step is to take a look at the roots and if they are black and or mushy then you certainly have rot at this point.
Solution: Remove all rotted roots and save any healthy ones that are still left before repotting in fresh soil and a new pot. You may also want to use an effective fungicide such as some quality neem oil before repotting this plant for the best chance of success.
Some other signs you may be overwatering include the following.
- Leaves turning yellow
- Leaves are drooping
- Stunted growth
- Leaves turning brown
- Curling leaves
Frost damage
With winter time approaching, you may have or will run into frost damage to your Peace Lily if you’re not careful.
If growing outdoors, especially near freezing temperatures, your Peace Lily can get frost damage from this weather and will turn black if the damage gets excessive.
Unfortunately, there is not much you can do when the damage is done as it will leave a sort of frost scar on your plant and keep it looking pretty unsightly.
Solution: Don’t let your Peace Lily grow in or near freezing temperatures or touch a window that has been frozen or you will run the risk of your Peace Lily turning black from frost damage.
Sunburned Peace Lily
On the other side of the spectrum, your Peace Lily plant can get sunburn if left in a spot where the sunlight or heat is too intense.
This is mainly during the warmest summer months for obvious reasons but can happen at other times of the year if the conditions are right.
This will at first cause a yellow or brown discoloration and then eventually your Peace Lily will turn black or have some black spots where the sun damage has occurred.
All you can really do here is try to move your plant in a more shady area before the full on damage has been done, as in if you notice the first part of the discoloration then it is time to act.
Fungal problems
Depending on your growing conditions, fungus can make it’s way onto your Peace lily and cause some serious problems if not treated quickly.
Fungus usually appears in conditions such as a moist environment, not good airflow and many other reasons.
To prevent fungus from getting on your Peace Lily you will want to grow in dry conditions will constant airflow, but if the fungus has already happened then you will need to act.
Solution: Use some good neem oil spray on your Peace Lily at least once a week until the problem has been taken care of and keep this plant away from other plants in the meantime.
Too large Pot size
A mistake that many people have done when repotting a Peace Lily or any plant for that matter is they go up too many sizes during the repotting process.
This can cause your Peace Lily to not be able to effectively get the nutrients it needs to thrive and eventually will cause your Peace lily leaves to turn black and so on.
Solution: Only go up one pot size when you have decided to repot this plant to prevent this plant from having way too much space and not effective nutrient uptake.
You can check out my article on Peace Lily repotting to learn more by the way.
Overfeeding
Overfeeding as in over fertilizing can potentially cause black spots or the leaves to turn black on your Peace lily.
This is especially common for those of you that fertilize during the winter or colder months which is not recommended anyway.
You really only want to fertilize your Peace Lily during the spring and around the more active growing seasons and not the winter.
Solution: Don’t fertilize at all during the winter or non active growing seasons and you won’t have this problem.
Pests
Lastly, if you notice black spots on your Peace Lily then it could just be caused by some pests gaining a foothold on your plant.
This is especially true will mealybugs that can leave behind a trail of honeylike substance that can turn into dark mold on your plant.
This will appear to be black spots on your Peace lily and this pest problem needs to be taken care of.
Solution: The easiest method to get rid of these mealy bugs and other pests is to use high quality neem oil spray weekly until you see no sign of the pests on your Peace Lily plant again.