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Do peace lilies need sunlight


Do Peace Lilies Need Sunlight?

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Peace lilies are very popular because they’re very pretty and taking care of them isn’t too difficult. This doesn’t mean that you can neglect the needs of the plant, though.

If your peace lily isn’t looking too hot, then you might wonder if you’ve made some mistakes. When your peace lily isn’t getting a lot of sunlight, you might wonder if that could be what’s wrong.

Do peace lilies need sunlight or can they thrive in low-light environments? Keep reading to learn more so that you can ensure that you get things right.

Once you’ve read all of the information, you’ll be able to make adjustments to how you’re caring for the plant if necessary. Hopefully, you’ll be able to enjoy your peace lily and keep it looking pretty for a long time.

Peace Lilies Do Well in Low-Light Conditions

You’ll be happy to hear that peace lilies do quite well in low light conditions. This is one of the reasons why peace lilies are so commonly seen in offices and other indoor settings.

Plants such as this can keep on living and growing even when they aren’t getting a ton of sunlight. This doesn’t mean that they don’t need light at all, but they do better when they’re placed in shade or partial shade.

So long as you’re giving the peace lily some indirect sunlight, it’s going to do pretty well. These plants can stay healthy when placed in either low or bright indirect sunlight.

If you need a good plant for an office that doesn’t get a lot of sunlight, then a peace lily is the perfect plant to buy. It’ll stay healthy so long as you care for it properly.

Direct Sunlight Can Be Bad

Direct sunlight can actually be very bad for peace lily plants. You see, peace lilies are too sensitive to direct sunlight.

If you were to place the plant in bright direct sunlight, then it would have its leaves scorched. This will significantly stress the plant.

You might even wind up killing the plant if you try to keep it in direct sunlight. Even if you aren’t keeping the plant in a low-light environment, it’s imperative to protect it from direct sunlight exposure.

Try your best to give the plant indirect sunlight by placing it in a good spot. Remember that this plant doesn’t need a lot of sunlight to do well.

They Won’t Grow Too Well with No Sun at All

As with most plants, peace lilies do need some sunlight to be able to keep growing. They don’t need a lot of it, but they will need more than nothing.

Try to find a spot in your office where the plant will have access to indirect sunlight for several hours each day. It’ll grow better if it has access to bright indirect sunlight.

You can keep the plant in low light so long as it’s getting some sunlight. Protect the plant from harsh sunlight while ensuring that it has access to at least a bit of light during the day.

Temperature Issues

Even though peace lilies can do well in offices, you’re still going to need to watch out for temperature issues. Problems with the temperature can occur in offices that are either too cold or too hot.

It’s more likely that you’re going to have issues with the office being too cold, though. These are tropical plants that do best in temperatures that are above 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

They can survive in temperatures that are at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit, but they might not do as well. If your office is cold and drafty, then that could easily become an issue for the plant.

Try your best to keep the peace lily plant away from drafty windows and vents. If the plant gets too close to cool air, then it might wind up looking worse for wear.

Humidity Issues

You should also be aware of the potential for humidity issues to negatively impact your plant. As mentioned above, peace lilies are considered to be tropical plants.

Tropical plants generally thrive in humid environments. Sometimes office environments will be dry, and this will cause your plant to have a tough time.

If the office isn’t humid enough for the peace lily plant, then you could try to change that. Some people will go so far as to place small humidifiers in their offices to keep the houseplants happy.

You could also try regularly misting the leaves with water. This is a simple way to artificially add humidity to the air near the plant.

How to Water Peace Lily Plants

Watering peace lily plants won’t be all that tough. You just have to ensure that you consistently water the plant to keep it healthy.

It’s best to keep the soil moist without letting it completely dry out. However, you need to be careful not to water the plant too much.

Watering a plant too much can potentially harm it significantly. If you keep watering it more than necessary, then your peace lily plant could wind up rotting.

When you water a plant more than you’re supposed to, it essentially drowns the plant. The plant isn’t capable of absorbing nutrients and doing what it needs to do.

Thankfully, it’s easy enough to avoid issues such as this if you’re paying attention. When the top inch of the soil is dry, you’re supposed to water the plant thoroughly.

Don’t allow the plant to sit in water. Ensure that the plant is draining properly and never allow it to sit in the saucer with the overflow water.

It’s also wise to ensure that the peace lily is potted using soil that drains well. If you do all of this, then it should do quite well in an office environment.

Do Peace Lilies Need Fertilizer?

Peace lilies do not necessarily need fertilizer to stay healthy. You can give them fertilizer if you’d like to help them grow, but you need to do so carefully.

These plants aren’t considered to be heavy feeders, and this means that they should only be fed occasionally. If you want to encourage the plant to grow during the spring and summer, then that’s fine.

You can fertilize them every six weeks during the growing season. It’s best to use a balanced houseplant fertilizer to get the job done starting in the late winter.

If you go overboard with fertilizer, then you can harm the plant. This means that you must follow the instructions on the fertilizer that you’re using.

Often, it’s safer to dilute the fertilizer a bit to avoid issues with it being too strong. If you’re worried about making a mistake, then it’s fine to simply avoid using fertilizer.

Final Thoughts

Peace lilies are incredible houseplants that can survive and do well in low light settings. If you’re looking for an office plant that can stay healthy and look nice even though it won’t have access to bright light, then you’ll be happy with a peace lily.

Since peace lilies don’t need much light to survive, it’ll be fine to keep them in low indirect light when necessary. The plant might grow stronger if it’s placed in bright indirect sunlight, though.

You simply have to make sure not to put the plant in direct sunlight. Doing so will cause the plant to get scorched and it might not survive.

Do your best to meet the care requirements of the plant so that you can keep the peace lily looking great. It’ll be a source of happiness in your office for a long time to come.

Lisa

Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.

Before you go: Now is the perfect time to start tracking your gardening progress, and I created a garden journal to do exactly that. Click the image below to see it in action and to get your own copy.

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How to care for a Peace Lily

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Home Plant guides How to care for a Peace Lily

If you've ever seen an article about low-light loving plants, you will probably have heard of the Peace Lily. The Peace Lily is a very easygoing plant that can survive in all kinds of different places in your house. The Peace Lily is a plant that requires little maintenance and will show you when it's not happy. This makes it a perfect plant for beginners, but it's also a great addition to the collection of more experienced plant owners.

In this guide, we'll go over everything you should know about taking care of a Peace lily and by the end, you'll be able to take care of this plant with ease.

These are the topics we're going to cover:

  1. Light requirements for a Peace Lily
  2. Watering a Peace Lily
  3. The best soil for a Peace Lily
  4. Fertilizing a Peace Lily
  5. Common pests
  6. Poisonous to pets

Let's get right into the first topic: light requirements.

Light requirements for a Peace Lily

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The Peace Lily is a great plant for darker places in your house. In fact, the Peace Lily should be kept in darker places, as it doesn't do well in bright places. The ideal range of sunlight exposure is low-light to indirect sunlight. It's best to put the Peace Lily in a spot that doesn't get any afternoon sun, as this will be too bright for it in the summer. A spot that gets afternoon sun in the winter is also an option. Learn more about sunlight exposure in the winter. Indirect exposure to morning or evening sunlight in the summer is ideal. This sunlight is not strong enough to burn the Peace Lily's leaves and won't expose the plant to too much sunlight.

Yellowing leaves due to too much sunlight

When your Peace Lily gets too much sunlight, its leaves will turn light green, and after that, yellow. When you see this happening, it's time to move your Peace Lily to a darker spot and prune the yellow leaves. Leaves that have turned yellow won't turn green again, so it's best to cut these leaves away, to give the rest of the plant nutrients to recover. If the leaves are still light green, they will turn back to their normal dark green color once you've moved the plant back to a darker spot.

Temperature

The Peace Lily is a great houseplant, as it's perfectly adapted to the temperature the average house is during the year. So you won't have to do anything special to keep your Peace Lily happy indoors. Do make sure it doesn't get exposed to too much cold air, keep it away from drafts.

Watering a Peace Lily

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Watering a Peace Lily is easy, as this plant is a thirsty plant. You should water your Peace Lily once per week and once per two weeks in the winter. If you've accidentally watered the Peace Lily a little too much, there is no problem. This plant will absorb the water quickly. As long as you give the plant enough time to absorb the water in the pot and let the soil dry out completely again, you won't overwater this plant.

Ideally, you plant your Peace Lily in a pot with drainage holes, because then any excess water can simply escape out of the bottom of the pot. This will ensure that you never overwater your plant, not even by accident.

Drooping leaves on a Peace Lily

When you see your Peace Lily drooping its leaves, it means that it's too dry and needs to be watered. After you've watered your plant, its leaves will raise up again, like nothing ever happened.

Brown tips on a Peace Lily

If you've forgotten to water your Peace Lily for too long, its leaves will get brown and crispy tips like the leaf in the photo. This is the last warning the plant is giving you to water it. The Peace Lily is not a plant that stores a lot of moisture, so it relies heavily on the moisture in the soil or Leca.

Like the yellowing leaves, due to too much light exposure, the crispy tips won't turn green again, so you can prune these brown tips. Cutting off the dead parts of the leaf doesn't harm your plant and improves the overall look of your Peace Lily.

The best soil for a Peace Lily

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As we've gone over in the previous section, watering your plant, the Peace Lily is a thirsty plant that should be watered weekly. To keep your Peace Lily happy, you should choose a soil that retains the moisture for a few days to a week. The Peace Lily doesn't store a lot of moisture in its stems, so it won't do well if you have a soil that drains really well and doesn't retain water for very long. Often, a regular houseplant mix or a palm mix is a perfect choice.

Fertilizing a Peace Lily

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A Peace Lily is a flowering plant, as you can see in the header photo of this guide. It has slim white flowers. In order for these flowers to grow, your plant needs to have plenty of additional nutrients. If you want these flowers, you should fertilize your Peace Lily at the beginning of spring. This is when the flowers start to grow and will stick around for a few weeks. After that, the flowers will dry up and can be pruned. If you give your plant great care, it could flower again at the end of the summer. Apart from fertilizing the plant once at the beginning of the spring, there is no need to fertilize the plant again, as it doesn't need a lot of nutrients to stay healthy. In fact, fertilizing too much could harm the plant.

If you don't want to fertilize your Peace Lily, that's fine too. If your plant doesn't have any extra nutrients to grow the flowers, it will simply not grow any flowers. Your plant will still grow leaves as it normally would, but you won't see any flowers. Using fertilizer solves this.

Common pests

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The Peace Lily is quite tough on pests and is immune to a lot of them. It could get Spider mites and mealybugs, but if you keep the leaves clean by wiping them regularly, it won't be a big problem and the pests will be gone quickly. As this plant grows quickly, it'll recover from these pests rather quickly as well.

Poisonous to pets

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Unfortunately, the Peace Lily is poisonous to both cats and dogs. When your pets chew on the leaves, it could cause irritation to your pet's mouth and stomach. The sap in the leaves contains calcium oxalate. This will start to irritate your pet's mouth and stomach after the first bite, which will help your pet to stop eating the leaf and avoid them being seriously harmed. However, if your pets have eaten parts of the leaves, this could cause them to salivate and show the behavior of trying to get something out of their mouth. Take these signs seriously and call your veterinary when you see this happen.

Due to the Peace Lily being poisonous to pets, keep it out of reach from them and small children as well.

Conclusion

The Peace Lily is a beginner-friendly plant that can be a beautiful addition to any plant collection. It's a plant that thrives low-light places and purify the air while growing. They require little maintenance and are very forgiving plants. If you accidently water it too much or give it too much sunlight exposure, the plant will tell you it's not happy. After you adjust your plant care, the Peace Lily will recover quickly and will once again be the beautiful addition to your plant collection.

Thank you for reading this post! I hope it helps you to keep your plants healthy and beautiful! If you're looking for more guides on specific plants, you can always request a plant guide to get a guide for the plant you have trouble with.

Tags: beginner-friendly, low-light, peace lily

Posted on: Oct 24, 2020 Last updated on: Nov 11, 2020

Other common names for this plant

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Frequently asked questions

Can a Peace Lily grow in low-light places?

Yes, a Peace Lily thrives in low-light places and will be very happy in those places. In fact, if you place the Peace Lily in bright light, it won't do well and its leaves will turn yellow quickly.

When does a Peace Lily grow its flowers?

The Peace Lily will grow flowers in the beginning of spring, but only if it has enough nutrients to do so. To help it grow flowers, you can fertilize your Peace Lily at the beginning of the spring. Your Peace Lily will reward you with beautiful white flowers.

Why is my Peace Lily drooping?

When a Peace Lily is thirsty and hasn't been watered in a while, it'll start to droop its leaves. This is a sign that you should water it soon. After watering your plant, the leaves will raise again in a few hours.

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More guides by Plant care for Beginners

Peace lily plants and sunlight: the best light for peace lilies to thrive

Author admin Reading 8 min Views 114 Published

Content

  1. Everything you need to know about the best types and amounts of light for peace lilies
  2. How much light do Peace Lily plants need? — Basics
  3. The importance of light for plant growth in general
  4. Types of light for indoor plants
  5. Typical light conditions that peace lily plants receive in their natural habitat
  6. Signs that your peace lily plant is getting too much light
  7. Signs that your peace lily plant is not getting enough light
  8. Better light exposure for indoor peace lilies
  9. Peace Lily Plant light requirements FAQ:
  10. Can peace lilies live in low light?
  11. Can peace lilies grow in full sun?
  12. What kind of light do peaceful lilies need?
  13. Will peace lilies live happily indoors?
  14. How do you know if your peace lily is getting enough light?
  15. Summary

Everything you need to know about the best types and amounts of light for peace lilies

The peace lily is known for growing well in home and office environments where there is less light than usual. However, this is not a plant that can grow in completely dark parts of the house. Without enough light, even the dark leaves of the peace lily will wither and lose their luster. On the other hand, exposure of this plant species to excessive light causes leaf drop and dry tips. Get the right light levels with these tips on how much light you need for your Peace Lily plant. nine0005

How much light do Peace Lily plants need? — The Basics

Peace Lilies (Spathiphyllum) need only a little indirect light to maintain healthy growth all year round. Place them near a north-facing window to prevent sunburn from direct light or relatively bright room light.

The importance of light for plant growth in general

Light is the key to strong plant growth, even for plants that do not need it. This is because light triggers the process of photosynthesis in the leaves. This is how the plant creates the sugar it needs as an energy source. nine0005

While fertilizer and water can also be a key part of Peace Lily care, lack of light will stop the plant from growing completely. Few plants can grow without sunlight, and they rely on parasitic relationships with other plants. Even the peace lily requires a minimal amount of light to run an efficient photosynthesis process to keep the plant nourished.

As with fertilizers, too much light is detrimental to most plants. It is impossible to stimulate more growth by simply giving the plants more light after a certain point. Plants that are sensitive to bright light, including the peace lily, suffer from sunburn instead of responding positively. nine0005

Limiting light levels is often the key to getting tropical houseplants to bloom. In fact, some plants need to be placed in a cupboard and completely out of the light for several hours a day to get this process going.

Some plants find it difficult to provide enough bright light to grow indoors. Choosing plants with lower light requirements, such as Peace Lily, makes it easy to provide enough light for strong growth without adding expensive plant lights. This is part of what makes these plants so popular in a wide variety of environments. nine0005

Types of light for indoor plants

Understanding the types of light recommended for indoor plants will help you find the perfect plants for the conditions in every part of your home.

Low light is the easiest to find in most homes and offices. Any area where only standard light from ceiling lights is available will be considered this light level. Peace Lily plants prefer these conditions. Translucent curtains above the window will help provide diffused light, rather than direct light, which can burn the leaves of sensitive plants. nine0005

The next highest level of light is filtered or mixed light . Outdoors, it can be found under mature trees that let light through to the ground below them. This amount of light usually requires some kind of plant lighting or a south or east facing window. This can be difficult to achieve if there is too much direct light at certain times of the day. Try window films or gauze curtains to diffuse bright light.

Final, bright light is the most difficult to achieve at home. However, it is also required by many popular indoor plants, including succulents. Direct bright light can burn even plants that prefer high light levels.

Indirect bright light is recommended for almost all indoor plants.

Typical light conditions that peace lilies get in their natural habitat

Like many other plants used as houseplants today, peace lilies grow in tropical parts of the world. They live in Central America, including Colombia, Venezuela and the rest of the upper continent. nine0005

Some local populations of peace lilies are also found in tropical parts of Asia. They require a warm and humid environment, whether growing indoors or outdoors. Since they grow in the undergrowth of jungles and tropical areas, they do not receive much light. The faint light they receive is filtered by the thick canopy of mature trees growing above them.

These conditions are easy to reproduce in a normal home environment. If less light is preferable than more, Peace Lily plants can be placed just about anywhere there is at least some ambient light. nine0005

They don't need a lot of natural light or window placement to thrive. Consider jungle plants that thrive in dense undergrowth like this for parts of the house that don't provide much natural light. The small amount of artificial light that is already being used to illuminate the room will be more than sufficient for this plant.

Close observation of your peace lilies will show if they are getting too much light. If there is too much light for the plant over time, you may see the oldest leaves turn yellow. nine0005

Another symptom of prolonged exposure to light is leaf curl, especially when they first appear as new shoots. When exposure is too bright and intense for only a short period, fresh leaves may also turn yellow. Those yellow leaves won't turn green again even if you move the plant out of the light. Affected leaves will eventually wither and fall off, so the best thing you can do after noticing yellowing is to encourage the plant to grow new leaves. nine0005

Unfortunately, most of the signs that a peace lily is getting too little light will be the same as those caused by too much light.

Leaves struggling with lack of light also turn yellow but may wilt first. Just too little light will eventually lead to dry tips and slight yellowing around the edges of the leaves.

Peace Lilies Plants that look shiny and dark but refuse to bloom also don't get enough light. If the plant refuses to flower despite adequate watering and good moisture levels, consider increasing the amount of light it receives. Diffused but even light will result in white flowers appearing all year round. nine0005

Best indoor light exposure for peace lilies

When looking for the right spot in your home or office for a peace lily, try to mimic what the plant has experienced in its natural environment.

Low light conditions can be found throughout the room. However, these plants still need a small amount of light to grow well. Try placing them next to a fairly bright artificial overhead light, such as a light fixture with at least two 60-watt light bulbs. If you can place it closer to your desk lamp, a 20W to 40W light bulb will be more than enough. Keep the peace lily away from any lighting fixtures designed for bright, light-loving plants. nine0005

For natural light , look for areas in your home or office that face north or east so they are not exposed to direct light during the day. Place the peace lily a few feet from a window, but out of direct sunlight.

If you need to place the plant next to a bright south-facing window, make sure the plant is protected from any direct sunlight for long periods of time by closing blinds or partially drawing a curtain if possible. nine0005

You may need to move the plant throughout the year to keep the light level constant. These plants don't actually hibernate in winter like some plants do. They need the same level of light all year round, especially if you want to enjoy their white flowers.

In winter, they can become stressed and lose leaves if the light level drops too low, so be sure to move the plant closer to a light source if necessary. nine0005

Peace Lily Plant Light Requirements FAQ:

Can peace lilies live in low light?

Peace lily plants grow best in low light conditions but require six to eight hours of indirect light from any source per day.

Can peace lilies grow in full sun?

These plants do not tolerate full sun at all and lose their leaves. nine0005

What kind of light do peaceful lilies need?

Peace Lily needs indirect, very low light.

Will peace lilies live happily indoors?

Because they need relatively little light, they can easily grow indoors if you provide humidity.

How do you know if your peace lily is getting enough light?

Must not be yellow, only heavy green bloom with dark glossy leaves. nine0005

Wrap-up

Peace Lily plants deserve special attention in terms of exposure to light as they can potentially flower all year round with sufficient light. Once you find the right spot in your home, it will be easy for you to maintain the dark color of the foliage without yellowing or brown tips.

If you're looking for a new Peace Lily plant for your collection, check out our detailed guide to the best plant shops delivering Peace Lilies nationwide. nine0005

Caring for world lilies | Gardening

The peace lily is one of the most popular indoor plants. It adapts to places with little light, even better than others (for example, begonia). In addition, they have a really very decorative flower. A flower that you can contemplate in your home pond if you want it to be an aquatic plant. But what exactly attracts more and more people to it? No doubt your concern. She is very grateful to her and for the fact that, as you can see for yourself, if you decide to buy it, you will notice it after a short time. nine0005

In this article we will tell you about all the characteristics and care that peace lily needs.

Index

Carateríastica PRINCIPALES

Image - Flickr / Dinesh Valke

The peace lily belongs to the class Liliopsida, order Alismatales and therefore to the family Araceae. It should be noted that there are different types of peace lilies, although they all have very similar characteristics and support almost the same requirements and care. The main traits that vary between cultivars are the color of the flowers and the appearance of the leaves. About 36 species of peace lily are known.

This plant is ideal for growing indoors. . This is because it is a plant that hardly needs sunlight to grow. It has green leaves and can grow up to a meter in height. The leaves are lanceolate, inclined outward from the center. The flowers are white. They are born and grow from stems. nine0005

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The advantage of this plant is that if it is taken care of for a long time it can live for a long time. It requires quite careful care, so it becomes a problem for all those who are fond of gardening. One indicator that a plant is being poorly cared for, mostly due to mismanagement of watering, is that it is turning brown or tinged on its leaves.

Naturally, we can find peace lilies in Europe and some Pacific islands in the wild near streams and rivers, in places where there is enough shade and high humidity. When we find this plant in the wild, we see that its root is usually very short. nine0005

Know how to take care of the peace lily should completely avoid the brown color of its leaves . It is necessary to supply both water and fertilizer to provide it with nutrients in good condition.

Care of peace lilies

This is a plant native to the tropical zone of the Americas and the Caribbean. Therefore, this is not a plant that tolerates frost or cold wind currents well. In this sense, we will look for a place where the plant is protected from any adverse environmental conditions. nine0005

In order to keep your peace lily in perfect condition, it needs the following care:

Ubicación

Being a plant very sensitive to cold, should be kept indoors at least in winter . As we said, it adapts well to life in dimly lit rooms, but it will also do well in those that are brightly lit. Of course, it must be protected from drafts, both cold and warm, and from direct light, as they can damage its leaves. nine0005

It only needs to be in the sun for a certain amount of time and in winter to be able to photosynthesise well and grow in good conditions. The rest of the time you need to be in the shade or partial shade and protect yourself from cold air currents.

irrigation

Peace lilies need to be watered from time to time. It is advisable to water a maximum of twice a week. . If we want him to be in the pond, he will be at the highest point. It is desirable that the soil remains moist most of the time. This is an indicator we can use to know when we need to water again. nine0005

If the summer temperatures are high enough and the environment in our area is very dry, we can spray the leaves with a little water to keep the humidity high. One of the main factors to consider when watering a peace lily is soil drainage. Whether we place the plant in a pot or in garden soil, it must have good drainage. In this way, we will avoid that irrigation or rain water accumulates in the ground and enters the pond with plants. These puddles can lead to root death. nine0005

Another aspect that we need to be careful about over watering has to do with pests and diseases. If the leaves of this plant are starting to wilt, it's because we've overdone the watering. Such excessive watering can put the plant in danger due to the appearance of diseases and pests.

fertilizer

Compost is very important for all plants. In the case of our main character, Fertilize with liquid fertilizer every 20 days throughout the growing season. nine0047 that is, from spring to autumn.

Transplanting

In the spring we will start replanting it, if we see that the roots are growing through the drainage holes. . Place in a pot about 2-3cm wider using a general purpose plant substrate mixed with 20% perlite.

Peace Lily Frequently Asked Questions

Some people wonder if peace lilies are poisonous. It should be noted that this plant is not toxic, as is the case with traditional lilies.

Learn more