Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Indoor plants

Plant of the Week: Spathiphyllus, AKA peace lilies

Rebecca Wolken
By

The most crucial part of getting a new plant is ensuring that you know how to provide it with the environment it needs to thrive. But, of course, not every plant requires the same care, and although we would consider the peace lily a beginner-friendly plant, it needs more attention than more common houseplants. So let’s dive into what a peace lily is and how to care for it.

peace lily in bloom
Image used with permission by copyright holder

What is a peace lily?

The peace lily, or spathiphyllum, is a tropical evergreen native to Central America and Southeast Asia. Although their nickname includes lily, it isn’t a true lily. This part of the nickname comes from their blooms looking like a calla lily. The second part of the nickname is in reference to “the white flag of peace.” These flag-like blooms happen more often when the plant is exposed to a bit of direct sunlight.

Recommended Videos

The plant can grow up to 16 inches tall when grown indoors, but you can move the plant outside during the summer months. Just remember to bring it back in when winter rolls around.

Related

How to care for a peace lilies

Avoid feeling nervous when you bring your new spathiphyllus home and check out these care tips you can use to provide your peace lily with the best care possible.

Water

The peace lily should be kept moist but never soggy or dry. It’s a pretty drought-tolerant plant and will droop its leaves to let you know it’s getting dry and needs a drink. If the plant experiences excessive dryness, the tips of the leaves will brown.

Light

These are shade-loving plants, and in their natural habitat, they grow on the dark forest floor. To mimic this lighting, place the plant in a spot where it will get medium to bright indirect light. The leaves will burn with direct sunlight, but a mild amount of direct sunlight can encourage your plant to bloom those iconic “white flag” flowers.

Food

Feed your peace lily with balanced indoor plant fertilizer. Apply it during the spring and summer but hold off during those colder winter months when the plant is likely not doing much growing.

peace lily on plant stand
Max Williams / Unsplash

Temperature

Temperatures ranging between 60 and 80 degrees are excellent for this plant. However, dramatic changes in the temperature around the plant will damage or even kill it. So avoid putting a peace lily near a vent, drafty windows, and doors.

Humidity

Since this plant is a tropical plant, it will prefer ample amounts of humidity, but it can survive in our homes’ average humidity levels. However, if you want this plant to thrive and live its best life, we recommend putting it by a humidifier or maybe in a bathroom where humidity levels tend to be higher.

Toxicity

The peace lily is considered toxic to both humans and animals, so be sure to put it in a location where smaller humans and furry babies cant reach them. Symptoms that you’ll see if this plant is ingested are extreme drooling, vomiting, or trouble swallowing. In addition, it’s recommended that humans wear gloves when cutting or working with the plant to avoid the sap touching their skin and causing irritation.

Additional care

The most common issue with peace lilies is sudden droopy leaves. While these can be alarming at first, it’s simply the plant telling you that it needs water. You don’t want the leaves to drop every time they need water, so it’s best to water the plant before the leaves droop.

The second most common issue is yellowing leaves. Yellow leaves mean the opposite problem of drooping leaves. It means your plant has been overwatered and is likely suffering from root rot or will be pretty soon. When you see yellow leaves, don’t water the plant until the soil is on the dryer side. We recommend investing in a moisture meter to avoid these often devastating symptoms. This tool will allow you to accurately measure the amount of water in the soil and correctly inform you when you should be watering the plant.

This elegant plant is a joy to grow indoors, and we’re sure you’ll love having it in your collection. Be sure to keep the soil moist and avoid a lot of direct sunlight, and your peace lily will be a happy plant!

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Rebecca Wolken
Rebecca Wolken
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Rebecca's has written for Bob Villa and a Cincinnati based remodeling company. When she's not writing about home remodeling…
These incredible indoor succulents are our favorites
Great indoor succulents to add to your collection
An assortment of succulents in pots

Succulents are popular houseplants, thanks to their easy care requirements and the wide range of sizes, shapes, and colors they grow in. When it comes to picking the best indoor succulents for your home, the amount of options can be overwhelming. If you’re looking for a good place to start, this is the list for you.

These five succulents are perfect indoor houseplants, great for beginners, and beautiful to look at. No matter what type of succulent appeals to you or what your home is like, one of these indoor succulents will be a great fit for you and your home.

Read more
The dos and don’ts of caring for your bonsai tree
Basic bonsai tree care tips and tricks
Bonsai tree in purple rectangular pot blooming purple flowers

Bonsai trees are, by design, relaxing and beautiful to look at. Thanks to the internet and international shipping, bonsai trees are becoming more and more popular in America, and many gardeners are interested in bringing one of these stunning works of living art home. Bonsai trees need light, water, and fertilizer like any other plant, but their shape and size also need to be maintained. If you plan on growing your own bonsai tree, there are a few things you’ll need to know first. Here is your guide to the basics of bonsai.

What is bonsai?
Bonsai is the traditional Japanese art of growing miniature trees. A bonsai tree is any small tree grown in a shallow pot or dish that is trained to grow in a way that resembles a fully grown tree. You can think of bonsai almost like a living sculpture, and like any other art form, there are certain conventions and traditions that bonsai artists follow.

Read more
Here’s how to care for your aloe vera plant to reap its soothing benefits
Tips on watering, pruning, and propagating your aloe vera plant
Aloe vera pups

Of the hundreds of plants in the aloe genus, aloe vera probably has the most established reputation as a powerhouse personal care ingredient. The plant is best known for its versatile leaf gel, which you can use to soothe scrapes, burns, and other minor irritations. As a succulent, it’s relatively easy to grow and maintain, but there are things you should know about it to give it the best care possible. Ahead, we’ve gathered everything you need to know about this healing desert marvel — with these tips, you'll be ready to harvest it in no time.

What you need to know about the aloe vera plant
Aloe often grows in a rosette form — many varieties are spineless, but some have spines and teeth along their fleshy, upright leaves. They can push out tubular red, orange, or yellow flowers outside during the growing season. The most common variety is aloe barbadensis, or aloe vera. Aloe vera is often found in food, drinks, medicine, and personal care items — that's right, it's in beverages as well. It features dagger-like, fleshy green leaves with serrated edges, and you can grow aloe vera directly in the ground or containers. The leaves can grow up to two feet long and the plant, when grown outside, can sometimes push out a yellow flower stalk up to three feet tall.

Read more