Question
Two questions in one.
My plant is a peace lily.
I have one of those bulbs that water the plants for you. Basically the same idea as an upside down pop bottle sorta of thing. But now i notice the leaves going brown, so i know i have soft water, so does that mean i should stop using the bulb and just water manually??

Also i have some black flies coming out of the bottom of the pot. I have read about the fungus gnats that cause similar flies, but the flies always hang out at the bottom and come out the holes. Does that sound like a gnat? Should i just not water the plant for a while then?

Help!?

Answer
Jen,

Yes, you have rotting roots and the fungus gnats are feeding on the rotting roots. Thos watering balls keep plants too wet. Peace lilies need to dry out well between waterings. In the winter I only water mine every 2 weeks. You may have to let yours go a whole month for it to dry out.

I also do not reccommend self watering pots for the same reason, they keep plants too wet and the roots rot. In the short days of winter watering most plants every 10-14 days is sufficient. If you haven't had the watering ball for long find the receipt and take it back. Good luck.

Darlene