The peace lily is one of the most beautiful plants that you can keep in your house. It can be planted both indoors and outdoors, and it will significantly improve the aesthetic appeal of any room that it is kept in.
Often known as an ornamental plant, the peace lily is sold commonly to people who want to add it indoors. When it blooms, the peace lily produces a white flower.
Commercial growers generally “force” the blooming before putting the flowers up for sale, thus encouraging the market growth. Even when the flower is gone, the plant has gorgeous green leaves.
However, what if you wanted those flowers again? In many cases, the peace lily simply won’t bloom, regardless of your caring technique. Obviously, this can be quite frustrating for most people.
The peace lily is a member of the same family as the philodendrons. These are both Aroids, and are generally quite popular as tropical houseplants.
The peace lily’s flower is one of the most beautiful flowers that you will see, especially since it grows among the contrasting green leaves. The flower usually lasts for around a month, after which it completely fades away and eventually succumbs to its death.
The peace lily isn’t going to flower until it reaches full maturity, and many professional growers use different techniques to bloom the peace lily, often with the introduction of plant hormones.
When Does the Peace Lily Flower?
The peace lily has a pretty attractive flower, with its creamy white color standing out among the green leaves. The foliage resembles a sword, and it doesn’t open up fully like a common flower does.
The flower is forced into blooming with the help of gibberellic acid. It is a natural hormone found in plants, and greatly increases the division of cells, as well as elongation.
Previously, the plant would be raised to maturity and would automatically flower. When gibberellic acid was discovered, this process changed considerably. It used to take a year for the peace lily to bloom and become “sellable.”
Now, with the use of gibberellic acid, the plant isn’t mature when it’s sold. Essentially, what this means is that the plant is not old enough to flower of its own accord.
If you want the plant to flower, you have to make sure that you fertilize the plant and make sure that the conditions on site remain as ideal as possible.
Here is a brief guide to help you make a peace lily bloom.
Light Requirements
The peace lily generally grows in dark environments, and the plant will remain considerably happy when it is kept in slightly dark places. However, you need to understand the difference between living and thriving.
While the plant will easily survive in a darker spot, it won’t thrive. If you put it in a bright spot that doesn’t get direct sunlight, the plant will grow much more quickly.
All plants need sunlight to grow, and the peace lily is no different. While the amount of sunlight required by the peace lily isn’t much, it’s not absolutely zero.
The plant needs to be kept in a decent spot where it’s going to get indirect sunlight.
Fertilizer
Feeding the plant is also quite important, and you can easily do so by making sure that you use a balanced houseplant fertilizer. However, it is important to remember that overfeeding your peace lily is a bad idea.
Instead, you should always consider buying a balanced 10-10-10 fertilizer and use it once every two to three months. This will make matters easier for you and also allow the plant to bloom much quicker than you would expect.
How to Make the Peace Lily Bloom
If you properly care for the peace lily, you should know that it’s going to produce a handful of flowers within the year. You can expect around one to three flowers every time the plant blooms.
But, you have to understand that expecting more numerous blooms is unwise. They are quite rare, and virtually impossible to achieve when you are at home.
Some people are under the impression that if they care for the plant, it might bloom. However, as long as the plant is kept at home, the level of care doesn’t play a role. You can give it great care, and the number of blooms will remain the same.
The blooms generally last for several months before they die off completely and the plant goes green, waiting for another bloom. If you have been to a shop before, you might have seen peace lilies that are fully covered with flowers.
Most people compare the peace lily at home to the ones found at shops, and wonder whether they are doing something wrong. However, as long as your peace lily is doing well and you can see that it looks healthy, you are doing a good job.
However, the one thing that you need to understand here is that the beautiful flush of flowers that you had when you bought the plant from the shop cannot be replicated. As mentioned above, nurseries often use gibberellic acid to induce the bloom.
It’s only designed to promote sales, and that’s that. Think of this hormone as a steroid that is used for blooming flowers instead of building muscles.
While the results are obviously very beautiful, you have to understand that they are completely unnatural, and cannot be replicated at home.
Watering
One of the best things that you should know about buying the peace lily is that this plant is able to tell you when it needs water. You don’t have to worry about underwatering or overwatering the plant.
Whenever the plant is in dire need of water, you will notice the leaves drooping. Within a half hour of watering the plant, you will see that the leaves will get back up and the plant will look healthy again.
The best thing about the peace lily is that it really adds a calm and peaceful aesthetic to any room that it is placed in. Remember, when you water the peace lily, the aim is to soak the plant, not let it sit in the water.
This could lead to root rot and could affect the growth of the plant considerably. If the roots succumb to rotting, your only choice will be to repot the plant and cut off the affected roots.
Humidity
If the area you live in has considerably low humidity on a regular basis, it is going to cause serious problems for you over a longer period of time. That is why it is recommended that you think of different ways to increase the humidity within the room.
Ideally, the best option that you can use is to place a tray with pebbles in it and fill it with water. The water will continue to evaporate and the humidity will increase.
You can also put an electric humidifier in the room to increase the humidity of the place. These are pretty simple solutions that will significantly improve the overall health of the plant.
These are just a few things that you should know about the peace lily and its blooming intervals. It’s one of the best plants that you can put in your house!
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.
Colleen Malecha
Tuesday 27th of June 2023
I received a Peace Lily at my husbands funeral. It has since bloomed twice. This time it has 12 blooms. Haven't done anything except water and fertilized it once. It's gorgeous, but some of the leaves do have brown tips.
Lisa
Tuesday 8th of June 2021
Gretchen, I'm glad to hear your peace lily is now thriving! I'm sure it will grow beautiful new leaves as well.
Happy planting!
Gretchen Tighe
Thursday 3rd of June 2021
Thank you for this! I have a new bloom on one today that has me giddy as a school girl! As mentioned in the article, it was covered with blooms when I purchased it. It's been about a year and a half and now a bloom! I've had it in a dark office corner until two months ago, when I moved it from Maryland (dark office corner) to Tennessee. Its current spot gets good indirect light all day and several wacks from my Bernedoodle, Monte's tail. Nonetheless it is sending up a bloom! It doesn't have the best foliage, as when it lived in the dark office, I failed to water it routinely so many leaves died off. Now that it is in a more visible spot, It seems to be "thriving?". Regardless, your article is helpful!
Tom S
Thursday 13th of May 2021
Very interesting, complete, and, I hope, helpful! Thanks. TS
Lisa
Wednesday 19th of May 2021
Thanks Tom! I hope these tips work well for you.
Lisa