Fertilizer build-up

Brown tips plus frequent feeding usually means salt build-up burning the roots.

Diagnosis

Fertilizer build-up

What's happening

Peace Lily is a light feeder, and excess fertilizer salts accumulate in the soil and burn the fine root tips. That damage shows up as browning leaf tips and edges, often with a white crust on the soil surface or around the drainage holes.

How to fix it

Flush the pot: run plenty of plain water through the soil until it drains freely, several times over, to wash the salts out. Then cut feeding right back — Peace Lily only needs a balanced liquid fertilizer at half strength every 6–8 weeks during spring and summer, and none at all in winter. Trim the burnt tips for a tidier look while clean new growth comes in.

If that doesn't fix it

This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.

Reviewed June 2026 · how we check this