Peace Lily

The classic peace lily, and Sweet Pablo is a big, lush one. Dark green leaves, white flowers that stand up over the plant, and a full shape that fills a corner. It is also the most dramatic plant I sell when it gets thirsty. (Spathiphyllum 'Sweet Pablo')

Light

Medium to bright indirect light. It lives in lower light, but it flowers in brighter light. If yours never blooms, light is the first thing to fix. No direct sun. It scorches.

Water

Keep it evenly damp. When it is thirsty it wilts flat, all at once, like it fainted. Water it and it stands back up within hours. Use the wilt as a last warning, not a watering schedule, because doing that over and over wears the plant out.

Food

I feed half strength balanced food once a month in spring and summer, and that is enough. Too much food gives green flowers and brown leaf tips, and the salts build up fast in a pot that stays damp. I do not feed it in winter.

Soil

I use a rich, moisture holding aroid style mix, about half potting soil, a quarter bark, and a quarter perlite, with compost or worm castings worked through. It should feel damp and spongy, not gritty. I do not use a fast draining cactus or citrus mix on a peace lily.

Growing in Water

Yes, this one can live in water for real. I split off a division and set it in a vase with its roots in the water and its crown and leaves out above it. I change the water every week or so and feed very weakly, about quarter strength, because plain water has no food in it.

Don't

  • Don't wait for the full faint every time. Repeated hard wilting yellows the leaves and shortens the plant's life.
  • Don't overfeed it chasing more flowers. Flowers come from light and a mature plant, not from extra food.
  • Don't use softened water on it. Peace lilies show salt and chemical burn as brown tips, fast.

Good to Know

Peace lilies are toxic to pets and people if chewed, so the corner it fills should be a no nibbling zone. On the good side, it is one of the clearest talkers in the shop. It tells you the day it needs water, before it is actually in trouble.