This easy-care houseplant is popular with first-time houseplant ownersit can even grow in water alone.
Peace lilies are hugely popular houseplants that are super easy to grow.
They feature glossy, emerald-green leaves thatgrow in very low light.
Credit:Denny Schrock
However, when placed in bright, indirect light, peace lilies can produce elegant white flowers (a.k.a.
spathes) almost year-round.
This guide covers everything you oughta know to grow and care for this tropical plant successfully.
Credit:Denny Schrock
Avoid placing your peace lily in direct sunlight because theharsh rays can burn the plant’s leaves.
Avoid Drafts
It is also best to avoid placing your peace lily near heat sources or drafts.
Sheltered Outdoors
Outdoors, peace lilies are onlyhardy in Zones 10-12.
Credit: Blaine Moats
Place the plant in the hole, fill in the soil, and water thoroughly.
it’s possible for you to also grow peace lilies in containers outdoors in these tropical climates.
Choose a container just slightly larger than the plants root ball.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Fill the container two-thirds of the way with well-draining, peat-free houseplant potting soil or houseplant compost.
For a different look, peace lilies can grow in distilled, purified, or rain water alone.
Choose a vessel or insert designed to suspend the plant above the waterline.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Use these tips to keep your peace lily looking its best.
Light
Indoors or outdoors, peace lilies perform best inbright, indirect light.
A peace lily’s shiny green foliage looks great even when the plant isn’t blooming.
Credit: Denny Schrock
They areprone to root rotin soggy or wet soil conditions.
Err on the side of under-watering than overwatering with these plants.
Temperatures below 40F will damage the plant.
To increase humidity levels for your peace lily, place a humidifier nearby.
Fertilizer
Give peace lilies an occasional dose of a slow-release fertilizer but dont overdo it.
Limit feedings to every 6 weeks throughout the spring and summer and watch for yellowing orbrowning in the leaves.
Over-fertilization makes peace lilies prone to leaf burn.
Pruning
Peace lilies benefit from regular pruning and deadheading (every six months or as needed).
Cut back spent stalks at the base of the plant to make room for new stalks.
Then, trim away yellow or shriveled leaves and spathe flowers with scissors or pruning shears.
Root rot is another common issue for peace liliesespecially when they are overwatered.
Terra-cotta pots absorb excess moisture, helping to prevent root rot.
Leaf blight is another issue that is exacerbated by high humidity levels and moist soil conditions.
It can create brown or black lesions on the leaves that appear wet and mushy.
How to Propagate Peace Lily
The simplest way to propagate peace lilies is via division.
Replant each of the new divisions in a separate container as you would a new plant.
Types of Peace Lily
Peace lilies come in different sizes, and a few offer variegated leaves.
Here are a few examples.
It can reach up to 3 feet tall indoors.
‘Domino’ Peace Lily
This variety ofSpathiphyllum wallisiiis a form with variegated foliage.
It also blooms, but its main attraction is its green foliage speckled with cream and white.
Frequently Asked Questions
We call them flowers, but the blooms on peace lilies are technically spathes.
The large, white spathe of the peace lily is a modified leaf (called a bract).
As these flowers age, the spathe fades to green.
Native to the tropical regions of South America, the peace lily is notactually a true lily.
It’s a member of the Araceae familywhich includes other houseplant favorites likepothos,philodendron, andmonstera.
However, that study was conducted in conditions that mimic a sealed spacecraft, not a home.
In a 1,500-square-foot home, that would be 15,000 plants!
North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox.
ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants
Interior Landscape Plants for Indoor Air Pollution Abatement.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NASA-TM-101766
Potted plants do not improve indoor air quality: A review and analysis of reported VOC removal efficiencies.
Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, 30(2), 253261. doi:10.1038/s41370-019-0175-9
