A peace lily with brown leaf tips is usually reacting to dry air, dry soil, fertiliser salts or tap water, and less often to wet roots. The tip is the farthest point from the roots and the first to dry when water is short at the leaf. The pattern on the leaf and the state of the soil tell you which.
What the tip tells you
| What you see | Most likely cause | Check this first |
|---|---|---|
| Small crisp brown tips on many leaves, soil normal, plant near a heater or vent | Low humidity | Position; season |
| Tips brown and the plant wilting between waterings, soil dry to the bottom | Underwatering | Soil; pot weight; how often it wilts |
| Tips with a yellow ring, white crust on the soil, recent feeding | Fertiliser salt buildup | Soil surface; feeding history |
| Tips browning after a change of water source | Tap water | Water source |
| Soft brown tips with yellowing lower leaves, soil wet, sour smell | Overwatering and root damage | Root check |
| Bleached patches with brown tips on the window side | Too much direct sun | Hours of direct light |
Low humidity
Peace lilies come from humid forest floors and brown at the tips in dry heated rooms, in a small crisp point on many leaves at once, with the soil moist. What to do: move the plant away from heaters and vents, group it with other plants, stand it on a tray of wet pebbles, or run a humidifier. Misting is not a fix.
Underwatering
A peace lily wilts dramatically when dry and recovers within hours of watering, but each wilt costs it: the leaf tips brown and the edges yellow. What to do: water whenever the top of the soil is dry, before the plant wilts, and rewet from below if the soil has shrunk from the pot.
Fertiliser salt buildup
Salts from feeding accumulate in the pot and draw water from the leaf tips, which brown with a yellow ring, with a white crust on the soil. Peace lilies need little feeding. What to do: flush the pot slowly until it drains clear and feed at quarter strength every couple of months in spring and summer only.
Tap water
Peace lilies are sensitive to the chlorine, fluoride and minerals in some tap water, and the tips brown after a change of water. What to do: water with rainwater, filtered or distilled water for a few weeks and compare the new leaves. Letting tap water stand overnight removes chlorine but not fluoride or minerals.
Overwatering and root damage
In soil that stays wet, the roots suffocate, the plant cannot supply its leaf tips even in a wet pot, and the tips brown softly while the lower leaves yellow and the plant wilts in wet soil. What to do: slide the plant out, trim brown mushy roots, repot in fresh airy mix, and water only when the top of the soil is dry.
Too much direct sun
Direct sun through glass scorches the leaves that face it, bleaching patches that brown at the tips and edges. What to do: move the plant back from the window or filter the light.
Trimming the tips
Cut following the leaf's pointed shape with clean scissors, leaving a hairline of brown so the cut does not brown again. Remove a leaf entirely at the base only if most of it is brown.
What to do today, by cause
- Low humidity: move from heaters, raise humidity.
- Underwatering: water before it wilts, rewet from below if needed.
- Salts: flush the pot, feed very little.
- Tap water: switch to rainwater or filtered water.
- Overwatering: unpot, trim, repot in airy mix.
- Direct sun: move back from the glass.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my peace lily have brown tips even though I water it?
Because the tips dry from the air, from salts in the soil, or from tap water, not only from dry soil. Check for a heater nearby, a crust on the soil, and what the plant is watered with.
Should I cut the brown tips off my peace lily?
Only for appearance. Follow the leaf's shape and leave a thin line of brown so the cut does not brown again.
Can tap water cause brown tips on peace lilies?
Yes, on some plants and in some areas. If the tips appeared after a change of water, switch to rainwater or filtered water for a few weeks and compare the new leaves.
How do I stop brown tips on a peace lily?
Keep it away from heaters, water before it wilts, feed very little and flush the pot occasionally, and use rainwater or filtered water if tap water is hard. New leaves then come in clean.