Growing Peace Lilies

If you love houseplants but your home doesn't offer adequate sunshine, consider growing peace lilies. These attractive flowering plants don't require a great deal of light, and they thrive in average home temperatures. Peace lilies are undemanding, trouble-free, and they are a lovely addition to any home or office. Growing and caring for a peace lily plant is really very easy.

Most peace lily varieties reach a maximum growing height and width of 4 feet, and they make wonderful floor plants. Tall sturdy stems exhibit pale green blooms that turn snow-white as they develop and mature. Their satiny flowers are similar in appearance to the calla lily, and they gently curve around creamy yellow centers. The flowers are perched on tall sturdy stems that rise above glossy deep green leaves shaped like pointed sails. The shape of the leaves is where the alternate name, sail plant, originates.

Ideal Growing Conditions

Peace lilies will flourish in dimly lit areas and they can be successfully grown under artificial lighting, but they prefer a little natural sunlight. Direct sunlight can damage the foliage, but indirect or filtered sunshine is satisfactory. If you notice yellow leaves, carefully remove them, and relocate the plant to a shadier location.

Average daytime household temperatures between 68ºF and 85ºF, and nighttime temperatures approximately 10 degrees cooler are ideal for growing peace lilies. Move them in the evening to a cooler location such as an unheated room, a lower level, or turn down the heat in your home.

Peace lilies thrive in humidity, so a light misting once a day will clean the leaves as well as provide a little extra humidity to the plant. Additional humidity can be achieved by setting the plant on a saucer of water and stones. Add stones to a plant saucer, and fill it with water just below the top of the stones. As the plant rests upon the stones, the water will evaporate and add humidity to the air surrounding the plant.

Watering & Feeding