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In today’s post, we will look into some useful tips and tricks to increase flowering size and numbers on your peace lily plant which is a very beautiful indoor ornamental plant. We will also show you simple ways of propagating peace lily plant and also some common mistakes to avoid while caring peace lily.
Peace lily also called Spathe or closet plants with botanical name as Spathiphyllum is a beautiful indoor air purifying plant recommended by the NASA. They are evergreen perennials with large shiny leaves and unique flowers which are produced in a spadix.
When it comes to indoor plants, peace lily plants are some of the easiest to care for. But, while peace lily plant care is easy, proper growing conditions are still important. Let’s take a look at some useful tips on how to grow and care for peace lilies and how to get large sized flowers and lush green leaves in peace lilies.
1. Sunlight: Peace lily prefers medium to low light – that’s indirect sunlight and can be kept in shady places and even indoors in brighter spots. But Peace lilies that are kept in more light tend to produce more and healthy flowers, whereas in low light conditions, it might bloom less and will just look more like a traditional foliage plant. So keeping this mind, you can keep indoors at a spot which receives adequate indirect bright light. One simple tip to get more flowers in peace lily is to keep it in a spot which receives 2 to 3 hours of direct early-morning sunlight.
2. Watering: This factor is really important for peace lily care and the most common mistake gardeners tend to do is overwater the peace lily. Peace lilies are far more tolerant of under-watering than overwatering, which is one of the most common reasons for a peace lily plant to die. So what you can do is: first check the soil for moisture once in two to three days using the finger-dip method. If the soil is till damp, never water it now, check again after 1 or 2 days and then water the container. This depends on the climate of the zone you live in. Generally daily watering is not recommended for peace lilies in any climate.
Another tip on Watering: Some people tend to wait until their peace lily is starting to droop down due to stress, before watering their plant. As these plants are very drought tolerant, this method actually does not harm the plant and will actually prevent overwatering.
4. Soil or Potting Mix: The potting mix or soil you plant peace lilies has to be a well-draining soil with at least a couple of drainage holes at the bottom of the container. If you bring your plant from a nursery and you find it’s planted in a clay rich soil, please remove the clay rich soil by soaking the root ball in a tub of water which dissolves the clay rich soil in few minutes. Then repot the plant into a larger container with a well-draining soil. Simplest recipe for making a well-draining potting mix is using 50% garden soil and 50% cocopeat or peatmoss. You can also optionally add some 20% compost like decomposed cowdung or even vermicompost.
5. Now the Fertilizer Requirement for peace lily: If you are an organic gardener, using decomposed cow-dung, horsedung or even goat dung once every month is generally sufficient to produce flowers and get some big sized healthy leaves on your peace lily plant. If you are using chemical fertilizers, You can use the general NPK 20,20, 20 fertilizer – like about 5 – 6 crystals per plant once in a month. One tip to get big sized flowers and leaves is to add Bone-meal powder or organic rock phosphate powder, while repotting the plant or while making the potting mix. This will ensure the plant roots are healthier and stronger which in turn produces shiny lush large sized leaves and large sized flowers in the long run.
6. Propagation of Peace lily: You can be grow peace lily from seeds bought from a garden store, but its not recommended. Best way is to get one healthy plant from a nursery or garden store and plant it in a wider and larger container. Then after a few months, you can propagate it by dividing the root ball and you get at least 4 to 5 independent plants from one single mother plant.
7. Pest Attacks: Occasionally sucking pests like aphids, whiteflies and mealy bugs can affect the peace lilies. You can use neem oil sprays once in a while to prevent these pests. Common problem in damp conditions is the fungal infestation of the leaves and flowers which can turn them patchy brown. In such cases, you can use my organic pesticide recipe containing baking soda and other ingredients.
8. Promote Photosynthesis: One last bonus tip to get a healthy peace lily plant that grows well and keeps producing flowers is to promote proper photosynthesis. Keeping its leaves clean of any dust will promote better photosynthesis. Clean the leaves once in a while, by spraying water and mopping the leaves with a piece of soft cloth.
