The Peace Lily Plant (Spathiphyllum) is a beautiful and popular houseplant that grows well both indoors and outdoors.
This beautiful plant has been a popular houseplant for decades. This plant is native to Venezuala and Columbia where they grow in warm and tropical conditions. In 1870 the Peace lily was introduced to parts of Europe.
The name Spathiphyllum came from the greek words spathe (a sword or blade) and phyllo (a leaf or something leaf like.)
There are now many cultivars of this beautiful plant. There are around 40 different varieties of the peace lily plant. Many of them have variegation and beautiful patterns on the leaves.
Peace Lilies as a Gift
The Peace Lily makes a wonderful gift. This plant symbolizes prosperity, innocence, purity, sympathy, and peace. Many people gift this plant to someone who is grieving or going through difficult times. This is a great plant for a housewarming gift as well.
It makes a beautiful statement piece in the home and is a nice large decor item. They are inexpensive plants and relatively easy to care for. I was given my first peace lily as a gift from my Mother when we finished remodeling our home. I still have it and it is one of my favorite houseplants.
Do Peace Lilies filter the air?
Peace lilies gained a huge boost in popularity after NASA released studies in the 1980’s touting it’s fantastic air filtering abilities. The Peace Lily in particular came out on top in this study. They found that this plant was able to neutralize toxic gases like Benzene, Formaldehyde, and Carbon Monoxide. Many of these chemicals are found in common household items such as paint, flooring materials, plastics etc.
These plants can absorb the pollutants through their leaves. The plant will then use the chemicals as food and exchange them out for pure oxygen. Can a peace lily filter all of the toxic air from your home? As much as we would love that, the answer is no. A plant can only do so much and the average home is too big of an air space for the plant to be responsible for the air quality.
This is a great plant to keep in an office or bedroom. It may not be able to completely clean the air around you, but it can sure help! Houseplants have many wonderful benefits besides just air cleaning, and the Peace lily can bring you all of them.
Can you grow a Peace Lily Outside?
Growing a Peace Lily outdoors depends entirely on where you live. They are tropical plants that will not survive year round in an area prone to hard frosts. If you live in zones 11 and 12 your peace lily should be fine outdoors all year long. Otherwise you will need to bring it indoors before the temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit or 4 degrees Celsius.
The peace lily plant can grow 1 to 6 feet outdoors and will take up a large space in the garden. If you choose to plant it in soil, make sure your plant is in a partial shade area with dappled light. Peace lilies can burn really easily when exposed to direct sunlight.
Growing your peace lily plant in a container outdoors is a great option. That way you can easily move it around outside if it isn’t happy in a particular spot. They are also easier to move indoors if you live in a colder zone. Just be sure to check your plant thoroughly for bugs or pests before moving it inside. It’s a good practice to give it a good dose of insecticidal soup or neem oil before bringing it indoors.
Peace Lily as an indoor plant
Peace lilies do very well when grown as indoor plants. They are attractive plants that provide a great piece of traditional home decor. Since they grow quite bushy they make a great option for filling large empty corners of the home. Some plants will even flower periodically throughout the year making a beautiful plant display.
This plant will do great in a North or West facing window. This will provide your lily with optimal light throughout the day without too much direct sunlight. The leaves will sunburn quickly when left in hot direct afternoon sunlight. Dappled light is great or periods of soft indirect light.
This plant likes to stay evenly moist and will often let you know when it’s gone too long without water. If the leaves of your plant start to droop it usually means your peace lily would like to be watered. Make sure you do not overwater this plant or it can get root rot.
How long do Peace lilies live?
Peace lily plants typically have a lifespan between 3-5 years. However, my peace lily plant is 6 years old and going strong! I just divided it into two smaller plants and have not seen any indication that it will not continue thriving for some years to come. Proper care of your peace lily plant will be a huge factor in increasing life expectancy.
Make sure you keep your plant on an even watering schedule so it does not become stressed. Provide optimal lighting, even though it is often thought of as a low light plant, it still needs light to survive. Do not put your plant in an area where it does not receive any light.
Fertilize and feed your plant. Peace lilies are not particularly heavy feeders, the soil mix will have some nutrients in it. However, you will want to give your peace lily a low dose fertilizer at least twice a year. I like to water mine with water from my fish tank. This gives the plant a low dose of nitrates in the water. If you have a fish tank, consider watering your plants with the dirty water.
Are Peace Lilies a difficult plant?
This is a controversial question. Many people put this plant in the beginner plant category. However, I have run into a number of plant people that find the peace lily difficult to keep alive. Starting with a proper growing medium is key to any plants survival. If you put your peace lily in a well draining mix, that will ease a lot of the difficulty when it comes to the watering needs.
Make sure you have plant potted in a pot with a drainage hole to avoid root rot. Knowing all the care needs for your peace lily plant is crucial to success. We have a complete printable care guide on the Peace Lily that you can look through if you need a refresher.
Are Peace Lilies a toxic plant?
The peace lily plant contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals. Simply touching this plant will not cause harm to humans or pets. However, ingesting the plant can cause some oral irritation of the gums and throat. It can also cause stomach upset and diarrhea. It is best to keep this plant out of reach of pets and small children.
We hope this article answered your questions about the Peace Lily plant! If have more questions about the care you can read our post on how to care for your peace lily. If you have more questions or comments, you can leave them down below and we will do our best to answer them for you!
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