Wondering How To Keep A Peace Lily Alive so it stays thriving and blooming for years to come? Here are the secrets!
You might get a tonnes of articles on the internet on how to keep a peace lily alive, but this one will give you tips and tricks that REALLY work!
How To Keep A Peace Lily Alive?
Getting a healthy peace lily from a garden centre and keeping it blooming for a few weeks is a easy task. The real struggle is to keep it in the same valour for years to come. Well, don’t worry. These tips will help you out!
1. You Need to Take Care of the Light Exposure
No. You don’t need to put these plants in direct sunlight, and you also don’t need to put them in a shaded location. So, what’s the catch? Well, it’s all about finding the right balance!
For indoors and outdoors, an east facing location is the best bet. It ensures that the plant gets mild morning sun exposure for a few hours, and bright indirect light (which also keeps it safe from the harsh afternoon exposure) for the rest of the day. A heady cocktail that keeps the plant thriving!
Remember, yellow and burning leaves indicate too much light and fewer spathes. Leggy stems are the signs of less light exposure.
2. Watering Plays a KEY Role
There are two things you need to be aware of, while maintaining peace lilies—first, they hate overwatering, so water these plants only when the topsoil feels a little dry to the touch. Also, no water on the leaves.
You need to strike a right balance between dry and wet—keeping the soil a little moist always, is the key. Something you can maintain by checking the topsoil every 2-3 days.
Second, peace lilies are not a fan of hot or cold, mineral laden water. So, make sure to keep the tap water overnight in a bucket (you can also go for well or RO water). This will also make it come to a room-temperature.
3. Is the Plant Exposed to the Right Humidity and Temperature Range?
Peace lilies love humidly, but that doesn’t mean you should start misting its leaves for it. NO! The best way, is to keep its pot on a tray filled with water, or use a humidifier. You can also use some other ways by having a look at this article.
These plants are the happiest in the temperature range between 18-32 C or 64-90 F. Keep them away from AC or heating vents.
Pro Tip: Always grow 3-4 peace lilies together, or with some other plants, to create a microclimate that’ll boost the humidity naturally. Avoid growing a peace lily alone, especially in a dry air areas.
4. What’s the Fertilization Routine?
Every plant loves a little feeding and peace lilies are no different. Rather than trying different blends in the market and experiment, it will be a good call to stick to any balanced liquid fertilizer, like a 10-10-10.
Dilute it to 1/2 of its recommended strength, and use it once in 4-6 weeks. Do not feed the plant in fall and winter.
If you want your peace lilies to bloom the BEST, you must read this article.
5. Are You Pruning the Plant?
Be it indoors or outdoors, pruning is an essential part to maintain peace lilies. Keep an eye on yellowing or browning leaves and snip them away. This will help the plant direct its energy to new growth and spathes production.
Pro Tip: Well, this is something many peace lily parents miss. Wipe the leaves with a damp cotton cloth (with 5-8 drops of milk) to remove dust. This not only makes the foliage shiny, but also enhances the plant’s ability to absorb light.
6. Re-Potting
If you’ll follow the above points, the plant will spread and thrive, necessitating the need to re-pot it every few years! Looks for the signs of roots coming out from the drainage hole at the bottom or topsoil. However, this will take time as these are s l o w growers.
Plant it in 1-2 size bigger container than the old one. Also, use a fresh growing medium at the time of repotting.
While you re-pot the plant, always divide it if the root ball is too tight. This way, you will get more plants for free!
7. Keeping the Pests Away
To keep pests like spider mites, aphids, and mealybugs away, along with potential diseases, make sure the plant gets plenty of air circulation and indirect light all day long. Keep the foliage dry and the plant will be safe!
