Growing Peace Lily Plants: Watering, Light, Repotting, and Pests
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Learn how to care for a peace lily, one of the most popular indoor plants. These beautiful houseplants are fairly easy to grow, but knowing how often to water peace lilies and what to do if their leaves droop or turn yellow is essential. Plus, find tips on how to repot your peace lily to keep it happy!
About Peace Lilies
Peace lilies are not true lilies. They are tropical, evergreen plants in the Arum family, native to tropical Central and South America. These plants thrive on the forest floor, receiving dappled sunlight and consistent moisture and humidity. Replicating these conditions in the home is the key to keeping your peace lily happy and healthy.
With enough light, peace lilies produce white to off-white flowers starting in the early summer and continue to bloom throughout the year in the right conditions.
Most household varieties of peace lily grow up to 16 inches tall, but larger outdoor cultivars can have leaves up to 6 feet tall. Peace lilies are not cold-hardy, so they can only be grown outdoors in warm, humid climates (USDA Zones 10, 11).
Is the Peace Lily Toxic to Cats and Dogs?
Yes, peace lilies are mildly toxic. All parts of the peace lily plant contain calcium oxalate, which may cause stomach and respiratory irritation if ingested in large amounts. Keep peace lilies out of reach of small children and pets who might chew on the plant. Common plants containing calcium oxalate also include philodendrons, daffodils, true lilies, and hyacinths.
Growing
Lighting
- Place peace lilies in indirect but bright sunlight. An east-facing window is perfect, as the plant will be exposed to the bright morning sun. A north-facing window would also be a good choice for a peace lily.
- Keep peace lilies out of areas where they’ll get direct sunlight all day (such as in a south-facing window), as it may dry them out too much.
Watering
- How often should you water your peace lily? It’s not the number that matters but the dryness of the soil that counts. Keep the soil lightly moist to the touch but not overly saturated. Peace lilies can tolerate short periods of dry soil, but their leaves will develop brown tips if they don’t have enough water or humidity.
- Tip: One nice thing about peace lilies is that they will tell you when they’re thirsty: the plant’s leaves start to droop. When the plant starts to look less “perky” than usual, test the soil with your finger. If it feels dry, it’s time to water again. They can be a bit dramatic; don’t panic if they start to wilt.
- Peace lilies are sensitive to chemicals commonly found in tap water, such as fluoride, which may cause brown leaf tips. Use filtered, room-temperature water, if possible.
Humidity
- Peace lilies enjoy high humidity. Misting their leaves or placing their pot atop a moistened tray of gravel can help to increase humidity around the plant.
Fertilizing
- Peace lilies are not heavy feeders, so fertilize only occasionally. To encourage spring and summer growth, fertilize every 6 weeks or so with a balanced houseplant fertilizer starting in late winter.
Temperature
- Peace lilies are tropical plants; they do best in temperatures between 65°F and 75°F degrees (18 to 23°C) during the day and about 10°F cooler at night.
- Keep these plants away from the furnace or a drafty window or door.
Other Peace Lily Care Tips
- The large leaves of peace lilies tend to collect a lot of dust in the home. Gently wipe them down with a wet paper towel occasionally; a thick layer of dust can inhibit photosynthesis.
How to Get Peace Lilies to Flower
- Most often, if no flowers appear, the plant is not getting enough light. Peace lilies are very tolerant of low light, but “low light” doesn’t mean no light! To encourage flowering, move the plant to a brighter location where it will receive bright, indirect light for at least a few hours each day.
- Green flowers, weak-looking flowers, or a general lack of flowers can also be caused by improper fertilizing. In the case of green flowers, cut back on fertilizing, as the plant may be getting too much nitrogen. In the case of weak-looking flowers or a lack of flowers, try switching to a fertilizer made for flowering plants. This type of fertilizer will have a higher amount of phosphorous, which plants need for blooming.
Types
Specialty varieties of peace lilies are not very easy to come by in most garden centers, though they have been growing in popularity. You may have more success ordering them from an online source.
- Spathiphyllum wallisii is a smaller peace lily, reaching only 12 inches tall.
- ‘Petite’ is smaller still, at approximately 8–10 inches.
- ‘Sensation’ is the largest variety available, capable of growing up to 4–6 feet in height and width.
- ‘Domino’, is a medium-size variety with attractively variegated leaves.
- ‘Mojo Lime’, which has lime-green foliage, is another medium-size peace lily.
Wit and Wisdom
- The peace lily is said to have gotten its common name from its white flowers, which rise timidly above its green foliage and resemble white flags of peace.
- Despite the peace lily’s common name, it is not related to true lilies at all.
- The plant’s attractive blooms are also the source of its Latin name, Spathiphyllum, meaning “spathe-leaf.” The flowers consist of the spathe (the white, sheath-like leaf) and the spadix (the spike of small flowers located within the spathe).
- Peace lilies are poisonous to dogs. Learn more about houseplants that are toxic to your pets.
Photo by W. Carter/Wikimedia
Catherine Boeckmann
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I bought a beautiful peace lily with many flowers from Home Depot almost 2 years ago. Since then the initial flowers have died and NONE have ever rebloomed.
I have:
~tried different light locations including next to a couple of different windows. I currently have a grow light hovering above it about 12 hours a day.
~I just repotted it about 2 months ago. I used Miracle Grow Pottin Mix
~After reading this article I switched to filtered water vs have been using tap water
~Maybe I'm fertilizing too much. I will cut back on fertilizer.
The leaves haven't been growing recently, but are very limp and sad looking. I don't see any new leave growth or flower growth. I feel like giving up on it and tossing it out, but I really want to bring this one back to life. What can I do?
Peace lilies can be a mystery when it comes to blooming; some will bloom without any extra effort, others can receive all the care in the world and not produce a single flower.
It sounds like you are doing everything right (including cutting back on fertilizer). Peace lilies need bright light to bloom, so the combination of a window seat and a grow light should be great.
As for watering: during the spring and summer, keep the plant’s soil moist (not soaked!). Limp leaves can be a sign of lack of water or too much water, so try to judge how much you are giving it and adjust accordingly.
I bought my first peace lily today! The one I got doesn't have the dark green glossy leaves but has thinner faintly mosaic ones. I haven't been able to find if it's a specific species with this feature as there were others the same as mine, and others with the normal glossy leaves. There are some newer leaves on the bottom that are a little glossier and without the mosaic, would it just be a sunlight/water problem?
I just rescued a peace lily at the local grocery store, it was reduced to less than half off because it didn’t have a flower like all the other ones. This is my first peace lily, and I’m going to re-pot it (with the hopes it will grow to be big and beautiful since someone thought she wasn’t worth much). Is regular potting soil good, and should I add fertilizer now or just wait? Thanks!
I've had my peace lily for about 5 years. About 6 months ago I found my cat jumping into the planter and pee'ing in the dirt. Needless to say, this was not good for the plant. I repotted it and took it to my office so the cat couldn't get at it. It is across the room from a large south facing window so it gets quite a bit of light but no direct sunlight. However, it really hasn't grown much at all. A few of the flowers have brown edges. Is there anything that I can do to try to restart the growth?
I'm not sure about this one, that cat urine is hard to fight! Maybe switch to another window if possible, try the 20-20-20 fertilizer and if these options don't work, you may have to start over with a new one. Keep it at the office though!
My peace lily looked very healthy but somehow, on the new leaf growth only in a small size. and no additional flower is appear. how to solve this issue?
My peace lily flowers are turning brown and dying I have gotten a few brown edged leaves which I cut off as well otherwise the plant looks healthy Are new flowers going to grow?
My peace lily is planted in soil on ground and the leaves have holes and some are brown and looks like bugs are eating it. What should I do?
My peace Lilly looks healthy and perky however recently a few of the larger leave have seemed to dry up and then dark green. They are brittle. Is this just old age of the leaves? Is my plant missing something?
