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Growing Peace Lily Plants: Watering, Light, Repotting, and Pests
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鈥檒l 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鈥檚 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鈥檛 have enough water or humidity.
- Tip: One nice thing about peace lilies is that they will tell you when they鈥檙e thirsty: the plant鈥檚 leaves start to droop. When the plant starts to look less 鈥減erky鈥 than usual, test the soil with your finger. If it feels dry, it鈥檚 time to water again. They can be a bit dramatic; don鈥檛 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掳F and 75掳F degrees (18 to 23掳C) during the day and about 10掳 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 鈥渓ow light鈥 doesn鈥檛 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.
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鈥檚 common name, it is not related to true lilies at all.
- The plant鈥檚 attractive blooms are also the source of its Latin name, Spathiphyllum, meaning 鈥渟pathe-leaf.鈥 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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Hi, Mary Katherine: We’re so sorry for your loss, but glad that you wrote. It sounds like you are on top of this situation as best you can be. You had/have a healthy plant that flourished for at least 4 months. If the roots still look OK, then there is certainly hope. Peace lilies need three main things: indirect sun; moderate, sporadic moisture; and warmth. Has anything changed with those three things? If not, it sounds like it is still too moist. Leave it alone; don’t trim it, don’t touch it for a week. See if it starts to rebound noticeably. If not, repot, but quickly and carefully… then put back in the same place/conditions where it prospered before. Thanks for asking, and good luck!
I am unfortunate in that I have a bathroom with no windows; the only light is when the light is on or when the hall light is on. I have bought a Peace Lily to go in my bathroom and I believe I can tend for it adequately, after reading previous posts, but we are away for 3 weeks later in the year and wondered if I should move it into the living room where the curtains will be partially drawn for the duration. Thanks for your advice.
When I've gone away for 2-3 weeks at a time I've left some water in the bottom of the plant container/tray and have left them on my living room floor - the room faces East. However I have left the curtains partially open so the plants get some light. I still have the plants after 8 years. In the case of my peace lily over time it is now been divided into 8 plants.
The amount of water you leave depends on the temperature. If it's hot you leave more but if it's cold you leave little. Once you come back if there is any water left you must throw it away.
We have had a large, beautiful blooming peace lily in our office for the past 9 years. It was a gift in remembrance of a coworker who passed away, so we really want to maintain it. A couple of years ago, I repotted it in a larger pot. Every year or so, I add Miracle Grow potting soil to maintain. Routinely, I cut back any old dying leaves and blooms and another coworker waters it when needed. However, recently, someone else began to water it also. It obviously was getting too much water and we've corrected that situation. BUT.......many of the leaf stalks around the outside bent when it was getting too much water and, four weeks after we corrected the over watering situation, they still can not stand back up. They appear healthy, just bent and hanging on the ground. The leaf stalks in the center of the plant are standing as they should and are healthy. Should I cut the bent ones back? If I do that, will it continue to grow and thicken back up? Thanks for your assistance!
Hi, Teri, If the leaves have died/turned brown, you can cut them off. If they are green and appear to be 鈥渁live鈥 but merely droop leave them alone. If they are green, they may not stand up again but they are probably still contributing to the plant.
I received a Peace Lily plant on 3/19/2017 and want to split it up w/my sister-n-laws? How soon can I do that? What about planting outside?
How big is the plant? Normally when you buy or get given plants they are small so they cannot be split until a year or two later when they have grown more.
In the case of peace lilies you get more plants by division. Each group of stems plus their associated leaves and roots makes one plant. However if the leaves for a division are small you shouldn't split the plant as you risk it dying.
When my wife brought it for me, it had about 4 leaves.
Then it flowered, single white one.
Then the leaves turned full brown, within couple of weeks and I tried to care but no use.
Eventually, all leaves are gone now.
For last 4-5 weeks I have tried following
1. Gave it manure
2. Re potted with fresh soil.
3. Moved it inside from my balcony.
Small stem like leaf comes out of soil and then instead of growing withers away.
Lastly a single guy popped out of soil. I am having high hopes but then, today morning its tip because very thin and started to look like a folded tiny leaf.
I am worried, I am trying my very best. Is it going normal?
Is it going to grow up? Should I continue on the same path?
Please advice
I have a peace lily plant that is over 16 yrs old,, when a stems die and I snip them off... now I have about 4 inches of bark as it grows higher ,,, when I add more soil does the new soil have to come up to the mark,,,, it blooms all year long,,,, when should I re-pot it with new soil??it has long been re-potted several times when not in bloom over the years... thanks for the infor
I find after about 2 years I have to divide my peace lilies. I can't just keep snipping of dead leaves and topping the plant up with fresh soil. As a result every 2 years the larger plants get repotted. Incidentally even if they are in bloom they get repotted - this is because I end up with a narrow weather window when I can do this - and they haven't died yet.
In regards to adding new soil you need to make sure the roots are covered and that means covering up to the "mark".
