Growing Peace Lilies

How to Care for Peace Lilies (Spathiphyllum)

Georgina198/Getty Images

Peace lilies are one of the most common houseplants because they’re fairly easy to grow and beautiful, too! Here’s everything you need to know about caring for a peace lily in your home.

About Peace Lilies

Peace lilies are tropical, evergreen plants that thrive on the forest floor, where they receive dappled sunlight and consistent moisture. Replicating these conditions in the home is the key to getting your peace lily to be happy and healthy.

With enough light, peace lilies produce white to off-white flowers starting in the early summe, blooming 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 that reach up to 6 feet in height. Peace lilies are not cold-hardy plants, so they can only be grown outdoors in warm, humid climates (USDA Zones 10, 11).

Is the Peace Lily Plant Poisonous?

Yes, mildly. All parts of the peace lily plant contain calcium oxalate—a substance that may cause stomach and respiratory irritation if ingested in large amounts. Keep peace lilies out of reach of small children and pets. Other common plants that contain calcium oxalate include philodendrons, daffodils, true lilies, and hyacinths.

Peace lily on table. Photo by izzzy71/Getty Images — Photo by izzzy71/Getty Images

Planting

How to Plant, Transplant, and Divide Peace Lilies

Use a well-draining, all-purpose potting soil.
Repotting annually in the spring is good for the peace lily, as the plant will appreciate the refreshed soil.
Eventually, the peace lily may grow too large for its pot, at which point it can be divided. Remove the plant from its pot and split it into smaller plants, being sure to leave several leaves per clump. The peace lily grows from rhizomes, so it can tolerate a bit of tough treatment during dividing.

Can Peace Lilies be Grown in Water?

Yes, peace lilies can grow in water alone; they are often sold in vases without any soil. Ideally, the base of the plant should be suspended above the water line, either by a specially-made insert or a layer of small river stones. This allows the roots to grow into the water, but keeps the base of the plant and its leaves from being constantly wet, which can cause rot.

Care

How to Care for a Peace Lily

When it comes to watering, consistency is key. Keep the soil moist, but do not overwater. Peace lilies can tolerate short periods of dry soil, but their leaves will start to brown if neglected for too long.
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.
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.
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.
Peace lilies are a tropical plant, so keep them in temperatures above 60°F (16°C) and away from cold, drafty windows. They do best in temperatures upwards of 70°F (21°C).
Keep these plants out of direct afternoon sunlight, but in a bright, well-lit area. An east-facing window is ideal, as they will be exposed to the bright morning sun but avoid the intensity of mid-day rays.

Peace Lily plant

How to Get Peace Lilies to Flower

Most often, if no flowers are appearing, the plant is not getting enough light. Peace lilies are very tolerant of low light, but low light doesn’t mean no light! To encourage flowering, move the plant to a brighter location, where it will receive bright, indirect light.
Green flowers, weak-looking flowers, or a general lack of flowers can be caused by improper fertilizing. In the case of green flowers, cut back on fertilizing. 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.

Pests/Diseases

Brown leaf tips are commonly caused by excessive light, over-fertilization, or lack of water and/or low humidity. Keeping the plant on a tray of moistened gravel or misting the leaves can help to increase humidity.
Yellow leaves may be caused by overwatering, underwatering, or old age (of the leaf).
Scale and mealybugs will happily take up residence on the plant, if given the opportunity. A thorough wipe-down of leaves with soapy water or insecticidal soap can be effective at stopping them, though repeated applications will be necessary.

Recommended Varieties

Specialty varieties of peace lilies are not easy to come by in most garden centers; you will likely need to order them from an online source.

Spathiphyllum wallisii is a smaller peace lily, reaching only 12 inches tall.
‘Petite’ is smaller still, at approximately 8–10 inches.
‘Sensation’ is the largest variety available, capable of growing up to 4–6 feet in height and width.
‘Domino’, is a medium-size variety with attractively variegated leaves.
‘Mojo Lime’, which has lime-green foliage, is another medium-size peace lily.

Wit & 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’s common name, it is not related to true lilies at all.
The plant’s interesting blooms are also the source of its Latin name, Spathiphyllum, meaning “spathe-leaf.” The flowers consist of the spathe (the white, sheath-like leaf) and the spadix (the spike of small flowers located within the spathe).

Peace Lily flower. Photo by W. Carter/Wikimedia. — A peace lily’s flower consists of a spathe (white sheath) and spadix (green or off-white spike of flowers). Photo by W. Carter/Wikimedia

What do you want to read next?

Pothos

Air-Purifying Houseplants

Lilies

Easy Houseplants for Your Home

Houseplant Care Guide

Poisonous Plants for Dogs, Cats,...

Best Indoor Plants for Low Light

Clean House with Tropical Plants

Clover, Shamrocks, and Oxalis:...

Lily of the Valley

September Gardening Tips

Give your Valentine a flowering...

Reader Comments

form.antibot { display: none !important; } You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form.

peace lily

i try to read and follow directions. love this plant. i have a few plants in my home that are at least 22 years old. i can not for the life of me keep one of these alive. perhaps i am wrong to say this, but having followed directions i have killed 2 of these with miracle grow. i used job spikes once and they did well but i eventually lost those too. if you find a routine and light schedule that works, id love to know it because it truly is a beautiful plant. best wishes to all

Brown leaves. Can you cut them off?

Can you also bottom water?

Brown Leaves and Watering

Yes, you can trim off brown leaf tips. Watering from the bottom is always recommended!

Droopy leaves

The other day my peace lily started to drop and despite giving it a good watering it still looked sorry for itself. Yesterday I decided to report it into a slightly larger pot, despite it being the wrong time of year. It still seems droopy and leaves not at all crisp. What do you think I am doing wrong?

Repotting

Be careful that you’re not giving the plant too much water! They can also look droopy if overwatered.

After transplanting, plants need time to settle their roots into the new soil, so don’t expect to see improvement right away. After two or three weeks, you should see signs that the plant has settled in (leaves perking up, new growth, etc.). During this adjustment period, be careful not too overwater, as the roots may not yet be working at full capacity and will therefore be more susceptible to root rot.

Reply to JENNY POE

"My lily is drooping over the pot, just started this i don't know what to do about it. It was a gift when my dad passed i don't want to loose it please help" -- Jenny

In my experience it will perk up again with a bit of water :) But check if the soil is dry first.

Fungus or Mold

Picked up a new peace lily at the garden shop. She was healthy but the soil overly moist so I haven't watered her. It's been a week and she started developing what looks like fungus on top of the soil, it's fuzzy and grey/white. Bottom leafs are turning yellow but the bigger leafs appear to be a lighter green than my others. Is there any hope for saving my plant?

Peace Lilly

My brother passed in 2015, and it’s Sept 11, 2020 and his peace Lilly is still thriving! So looks live people died but the peace Lilly don’t

Peace lily

Can you cut back a peace lily?

Severely sunburned plants

My nephew brought me Peace Lilies sent from friends at the passing of my sister. Yesterday, at her services, they were beautiful. Today many of the leaves and some of the blooms are very burnt. He left them in the bed of his truck in extreme heat for almost 24 hours. I immediately watered them and they lost their droop, but how do I go about trimming them and saving them, They were given to honor my sister.

Peace lily blooms

After 4 years, I reported my plant . It finally bloomed this spring -2 beautiful white blooms -recently they turned green?? It is getting another white bloom right now. Is it normal for the blooms to turn green? I assume eventually they will turn brown when done blooming?

Peace lily

My lily is drooping over the pot, just started this i don't know what to do about it. It was a gift when my dad passed i don't want to loose it please help

its dying!

My sister propagated her peace lily and gave me it yesterday. It has been dying since then. The lighting and humidity has been perfect. I watered it as soon as we put it in the new pot. Please help

Reviving Peace Lily

Hi Lavina,
It’s possible that moving to a new environment (however perfect the conditions) has shocked the plant. Make sure the pot has good drainage, and water the plant whenever the soil begins to feel dry. Remove any dead or dying leaves. After a week or so, you should see some improvement!

Outside Peace Lily

I’ve had a lily that’s been outside in the ground for years. It’s never bloomed and dies back in winter. Three winters ago my husband planted a Heavenly Bamboo on top of it, but it has continued to push its way through the roots and branches of the shrub and as of today it’s never been taller and there is a bloom! It’s almost like the shrub is protecting it.

Peace lily rises

The whole story is remarkable. We need more ‘heavenly’ peace in this world!

Droopy plant

I have a lily that’s getting worse by the day when I bought it it was fine and the last two months it’s just starting to curl over and now it’s all curled over , even the new flower , it just looks so sick and sad what am I doing wrong or can I save it. Also is my air conditioner could be the cause

Peace Lily Problems

Most peace lily problems are caused by either watering or lighting issues. Assess what sort of lighting (strong sunlight, no sunlight, artificial light only, etc.) your plant has been kept in, and also consider your water habits (are you watering too frequently—or too infrequently?). A consistent cold breeze from the air conditioner can also be detrimental to the plant, so consider moving it out of range of the arctic air!

black places (splotches) on some leaves

We have a peace lilly that has recently gotten black places on some of the leaves. We have it on our screened porch and wondering if it is a fungus? We have another ivy style plant getting a couple of the same black places on its leaves too.???? This plant is about 5 feet away from the peace lilly on a table. Both plants are in the afternoon sun a little bit, could that be a problem?

Peace lily flowers turning green

Thank you for this clear and thorough article. I have a beautiful peace lily that's growing quickly and flourishing. It now has three flowers, but two of them have turned green and yellow. Should I cut the green flowers and their stalks so that the plant can direct its resources to growing the third bloom?

Thank you for your help!

Leaves used to be dark green, now pale green

Hello, I've had my Peace Lily since 1994 when I first got a place of my own. Recently it almost died due to over watering by people in the office where it lived on my desk. I took it home a few months ago and it's recovered well, but the leaves are now very pale green. It sits on an East facing window and I water it with tap water.
Is there anything I can do to get the leaves back to a nice dark colour?
Thank you.

Kitchen livhy

Hi, I love peace lilie. Mostly because it takes a while before yhey inevitably die. Most of the other house plants Ive bought have doed quicker. You guessd it? I dont have a green thumb but I must have plants in my house. So, I keep my lilly on my kitchen counter. Where i live has 4 seasons so i keep it inside. I will die after about 5-9 months. How can Stop them from dieing?

Peace lily's temperature range

I want to put my peace lilies on my south-facing screened-in porch. I live in the New Orleans, LA, area. What kind of summer time temps. can these peace lilies handle? They will get no direct sunlight where I will put them.

at peace with peace lily

Peace lilies tend to like heat (up to 100°F!), but not direct sun, so it should do fine.

That said, these plants can be finicky.

Why is Flower dripping sap

Why is the flower on the peace lily dripping sap from it

peace lily drippings

Usually the dripping occurs on the leaf and it is usually caused by scaly insects that suck sap/juices out of the plant. Scale insects are difficult to control; plants need to be sprayed with insecticidal soap every 7 to 10 days, until the infestation is eliminated. It might be wiser to replace the plant.

peace lily leaves/flower get brown

I have problem with my peace lily from a week.
Leaves develop brown edges. Plants begin to wilt. Flower buds fail to develop or drop from the plant before they open. Flowers shrivel soon after opening.
Can you please help me what care need to be taken to grow properly?What should I do?

Peace lilly

I inherited my peace lilly from my grandmother in 1993 when i bought her home. I have found pictures of the plant from 1957 in the living room where it still is today.

plant dating from 1957

That settles it! We’re all moving to your house, where peace lilies are at peace!

should we constantly rotate our peace lily for even growth?

Our peace lily lives happily on our back screened porch which faces west. the lily is on the interior side of the porch against the house so doesn’t receive direct sunlight but certainly gets a lot of afternoon light. consequently it tends to have its best face of leaves on one side while the other side towards the wall is somewhat spindly. I am fine with that but my wife wants to continually rotate the pot to let the back leaves have a turn at the light as it were. i think that stresses the plant too much to have to constantly figure out where the light is coming from. Am I overthinking this?