Peace Lilies for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

by Mary Van Keuren | Gardener (30+ Years Experience) – last update on December 2, 2021

Planting instructions

Peace Lilies can be planted outdoors in-ground or in patio containers in zones 10-12. All other zones should grow them indoors. Plants should be planted in a shady area. The ideal daytime temperature range should be 68 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, with nighttime temperatures being 40 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Soil should be moist but well-drained. Avoid planting in areas where water pools or floods. When planting, be sure to space them about three feet apart.

For outdoor/indoor container planting, place your Peace Lily in a well-draining container that’s about three to five inches wider than the root ball. These plants require very little fertilizer. It’s best to avoid top shelf potting mixes as they contain fertilizer that may burn the roots. Make your own potting mix using a mixture of peat moss (40%,) vermiculite (20%,) pine bark (20%), and perlite (20%.)

When grown indoors these plants should be placed in low-light areas and out of direct sunlight.

Watering and nutrients

Peace Lilies do best when the soil is moist; however, be careful not to overwater. Bring tap water to room temperature to ensure that any chlorine in the water settles. Alternatively, use bottled spring water at room temperature. When watering, be careful to water at the base of the plant, avoiding getting the leaves wet.

Fertilize Peace Lilies with a very light application of fertilizer one month after planting with a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10) that has been diluted to a quarter of its usual application strength. Reapply fertilizer (diluted) about every six weeks.

Pollination

In the center of the Peace Lily flower is a “spadix” (a conical protruding floral spike containing minute flowers.) The spadix is where pollen is either released or received. Females receive pollen, whereas males release pollen. Flowers last up to about 10 days, and during this time, they emit a soapy odor during the morning that attracts bees. Up to three pollinating bees claim ownership of one flower and return to that flower each morning during the 10-day flowering phase. Once the flowers have reached the end of flowering, the soapy odor emittance ceases signaling to the bees to go to the next Peace Lily flower, spreading pollen from the previous flower to a new one.

Pruning

It will be easy to know when to deadhead flowers because, after ten days of flowering, they fade from a creamy white to green and begin to wilt. To deadhead, follow the flower stalk to the base of the plant. Using sharp, disinfected pruning shears, cut the stalk just above the soil, and remove.

The foliage will require some mild pruning when leaves become discolored (yellow/brown) and wilt. Sometimes the discoloration and wilting may indicate it’s not getting enough water or too much sunlight. As the plant grows, it’s also natural for the leaves to turn yellow and wither. Either way, it’s essential to remove the dead/decaying leaf to promote new growth. This can be done using disinfected, sharp shears cutting either the discolored portion of the leaf or the entire leaf (making a 45-degree angle cut at the base of the petiole.)

Pests and diseases

The Peace Lily requires little maintenance and has few problematic pests or diseases. It’s not unusual to find mealybugs or brown scales on your plant. To remove mealy bug infestations, use a cotton ball soaked with rubbing alcohol to wipe away mealy bugs. To remove scale insects, scrape the insect bodies gently off the surface of the leaf.

Peace Lilies may be susceptible to Cylindrocladium spathiphylli (a type of root rot). This is a disease pathogen transmitted from plant to plant through contaminated water. Symptoms include lesions (red/brown) on the roots and a decaying appearance. Secondary symptoms of this pathogen manifest as yellowing leaves.

Peace Lilies also may be susceptible to Phytophthora, a soil-borne fungal disease that causes leaf spots and root rot. Black lesions form on the leaves, and wilting occurs. Prevention of diseases can be accomplished through cultural controls such as distancing plants from each other and avoiding placing them in a communal watering tray. Once a plant becomes infected with Phytophthora, it’s best to discard it.

Light

Although they can tolerate fluorescent light, lilies thrive better in partial shade. They can flourish even in a room without a window.

Moreover, Peace Lilies can react to light, so it’s easier to monitor them as regards lighting.

When the light that goes to them is too strong, this plant will sprout yellow leaves or show up brown leaves when placed under direct sunlight. Their tender leaves tend to singe from the effect of direct sunlight.

Soil

Lilies naturally draw nutrients out of the soil. Therefore, the choice of soil and how you prepare it is absolutely important for the survival of your plant.

It’s important to note that the nutrients inherent in the soil cannot be replaced by fertilizers.

This is why it’s generally recommended to re-pot your plant every year or two so you have the opportunity to present a new source of nutrient to your plant.

As you know, you can continue to fertilize the old soil. However, keeping it for too long may create salt/chemical deposits that may harm your plant.

Repotting regularly also ensures you’re providing the maximum amount of nutrients for your Peace Lily to survive on. And you’ll also be able to decide whether to move the plant to a bigger pot.

The benefit of that is it will keep your lily from becoming root bound when left in the same pot for too long.

Humidity

Where do Peace Lilies thrive?

In a tropical jungle, where it’s warm and sultry. To replicate this condition, you can mist the plant with lukewarm water – you can do this daily, or three times a day, depending on your plant’s needs.

Try to mist the leaves of the plant regularly so as to improve the humidity and keep the plant in a solid state.

A good idea is to use an air humidifier if you feel you can’t do it manually. This should work well and free you from having to worry about the air humidity around your plant, every time.

Propagation

The best method is to do propagation by division, where you separate sections of the original plant. You do this by dividing the root clump in the middle of the mother plant so that each segment is separated.

You then place each part in a separate container. Dividing every 2 years will have a positive effect on your plant’s bloom.

Usually, the number of plants you wish to grow will determine how many places you divide the original plant as well as how many crowns the mother plant has.

If there are plenty of crowns already, you can separate them into more divisions, if not, you can make do with two or three.

You can cut away section from the old plant by using a sharp knife or take it away by hand gently. In order to propagate successfully, you need to ensure that the new crown has at least two leaves with roots attached.

And before you put it in a new pot, check the foliage and roots and remove brown tips or any loose part.

Repotting

You should repot your lily if roots appear on the surface or start growing through drainage holes. This may happen about once per year, and it’s easy to do.

Repotting may also be needed if the root of your Peace Lily starts growing round in a circle and not performing very well, you may need to loosen those roots up a little bit.

Don’t worry about the new one being fragile because they can actually take well to a new environment. The new container should be an inch to two inches bigger in diameter than the original pot.

Make sure you add enough soil to the bottom of the new pot to raise the plant to its original height. It’s important to cover the roots well so you don’t leave any air pockets.

This will give a lot of space for the roots to stretch out, grow, and allow more water to be held by the soil so that the plant isn’t going to dry out too quickly.

You can use the soil from the old pot. Also, make sure the new pot is not too big if you are doing a small transplant. Remember a warm and comfortable root brings about blooming in Peace Lilies.

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Customer Reviews

Anonymous

Verified Buyer November 18, 2020 at 4:16am

Beautiful Peace Lily

The plant is huge and arrived in perfect condition.