I’d say that the Spathiphyllum (also known as Peace Lily) is one of the underrated beauties in the houseplant world. It has beautiful glossy, ribbed like foliage and elegant white “flowers”. Best of all, it’s pretty low maintenance and doesn’t require much effort on your part.
Light requirements | Spathiphyllum
Here’s where the Spathiphyllum shows its low maintenance nature.
It can actually tolerate a wide range of light – from medium to bright indirect light.
You can place it near any window – north, east, south or west – and it will acclimate to that amount of light.
You can also place it a couple of feet away from the window (except for north facing windows). North facing windows have very limited lighting as is – so placing it a couple of feet from a north facing window could be to little light.
If you choose to place your Peace Lily in front of a south facing window, you need to be careful of one thing – direct sunlight.
Direct sun rays coming from the south facing window (especially during summer) can burn its leaves.
Because of that, it’s best to cover the window with a sheer white curtain or something similar – that still lets in light but doesn’t harm the plants.
How to get your Peace Lily to flower again?
The flowering of the Peace Lily is directly connected to the amount of light that the plant is receiving. If not given enough hours of sunlight, your Peace Lily probably wont flower.
If your Spathiphyllum hasn’t been producing any new flowers, try moving it to a brighter spot.
As we said earlier, the Spathiphyllum can survive in lower light conditions, but those are not optimal for the plant to thrive and produce new flowers.
How often do you need to water your Spathiphyllum? | watering
The Spathiphyllum is known to “need a lot of water”. This statement can easily be misinterpreted.
It does not mean that you need to water it constantly, but rather that the plant has the ability to “drink” more water. Because of that, the soil will start to dry out more quickly.
You still need to check the soil before watering to ensure it’s not moist before you water it again.
When the top of the soil (about and inch or two) has started to dry out, it’s time to water your Peace Lily.
If you forget to water it, the plant will tell you – in quite a dramatic way – that it needs to be watered. I’m guilty of letting it show me its “wilted look” to many times. That’s really the last call and if you see your plant looks like that – give it water ASAP.
Like almost all houseplants, Peace Lily also doesn’t like to sit in moist soil. But, because of the statement “needs a lot of water” it can easily be overwatered.
If you have problems with an overwatered plant and you want to try to save it, check out my post – How to fix an overwatered plant? | a helpful guide – to see what can you do to help it.
How to water Peace Lilies?
Once you established that your Peace Lily needs to be watered, water it thoroughly.
You can use tap water, filtered water or any other kind of water that you use to water your houseplants.
The important thing is to water it thoroughly so that water reaches all parts of the root system.
Keep adding water until you see water coming out of the drainage holes.
It’s important to have drainage holes on the bottom of the pot, so that excess water doesn’t remain on the bottom of the pot.
If water starts leaking to fast – it may be that the soil is too compacted.
In this case water just found a quick way through the soil. But you actually didn’t water the plant because water didn’t reach all parts of the root system. If this is the case, try to loosen up the soil and repeat the process.
Bottom watering is the way to go
Some plant I prefer to water from the top, but there are some plants that I prefer to bottom water – and the Spathiphyllum is one of them.
I simply pour a few inches of water into my Peace Lily’s cover pot and I let the plant absorb as much water as it needs.
After half an hour (up to an hour) I check if there’s any water left in the pot. If there is – I throw it out.
You can combine watering methods, too.
For example, you can water your plant from the top, let the water drain through the drainage holes.
Only now, instead of throwing the excess water out immediately, leave the water for about 30-60min. Only than, throw out what’s left of the water.
General Spathiphyllum maintenance
Maintain the leaves of your Peace Lily clean. You can occasionally bring your plant to the shower of you can clean the leaves on spot. In both cases I’d recommend you use a microfiber cloth to wipe all the accumulated dust.
Cleaning the leaves will not only help your plant photosynthesize better, but it will also help you prevent any possible pest infestation.
When should you repot your Peace Lily?
It’s best to repot it in the beginning of the growing season (approx. from March to June, although you can do it later also).
You don’t need to repot it every year, but only when you see that it’s root bound.
To repot it, choose a 1-2 sizes (1 inch/2 cm) bigger pot, not bigger than that.
If you are wondering whether you should choose a plastic or a terracotta pot, read – Plastic pot vs. terracotta pot | Which one is better for your houseplant?, this will hopefully help you decide.
Do you need to fertilize your Spathiphyllum? | fertilizing
Give fertilizer to your Spathiphyllum once a month during the growing season. I start fertilizing my plants in March/April and I fertilize them until October/November.
To fertilize it, I use a diluted complete liquid fertilizer for green plants. To dilute your fertilizer – be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle, because not all brands have the same fertilizer-to-water ratio.
Is Spathiphyllum toxic to pets? | toxicity
Peace Lilies are toxic so it’s best to keep them out of reach of your pets and children.