Peace Lilies or Spaths are a group of fluorescent perennial decorative monocotyledonous garden plants historically native to Southeast Asia and the American tropical regions. They are widely known for blooming attractive psychologically-relaxing green, white, or yellow flowers 4-12 inches long on sturdy plump spikes called Soadix.
Spathiphyllum is a tender plant, gentle in appearance and behavior, and it doesn’t give much fuss during propagation. This easy-to-grow, low-maintenance garden plant has several attractive benefits. Including being propagated as a natural air filtering and detoxifying agent by the breakdown of formaldehyde and carbon monoxide.
Propagating Peace Lilies
Peace Lilies are a wonderful option to begin with in your journey as a garden plants’ propagator because of their ease of propagation and simple maintenance requirements. They’re mostly propagated by dividing a mature leggy pot.
It would be best if you didn’t bother attempting to propagate Peace Lilies from stem or leaf cuttings because your chances of success would be very low; you will most likely end up with blind cuttings that won’t root. However, you can grow them by dividing a mature plant from the stem or roots. I prefer to divide Peace Lily pots from February to May (late winter to early spring).
Preparing Peace Lily Divisions
It’s easier to propagate a Peace Lily pot that’s mildly moist; you can water the pot a day before propagation to loosen the roots and soil particles.
Gently remove the plant from its pot by pulling it off. It would be best if you briefly rocked it back and forth on its sides to get it out of the pot.
Once the plant is removed, use your finger to run through the roots and comb gently to separate the root hairs. Ensure none of the roots are broken or damaged in the process because that might delay the propagation process.
Now select the perfect spots for the division. A division is a root cluster that bears a section of stem and leaves. Ensure each stem is a minimum of 6 inches long and has 3-4 leaves attached.
Please use clean garden scissors or knives to cut off the divisions; it’s possible to get more than one division from a plant, depending on how leggy and bushy it is. Your new divisions can be grown in a potting mix or a glass water jar.
Growing your Peace Lily Divisions in Water
Many of the Peace Lily lovers I know like to grow their divisions in water because of the simplicity and flexibility of the process; all you need is a clear glass jar, some clean water, and a few stone pebbles.
Pour clean water into the glass jar after inserting the stone pebbles and insert the divisions into it. Each jar can have up to 2-3 divisions, depending on size. Ensure the water level is at most 3 inches deep and no leaf is touching the water level.
The jar should be kept on a brightly lit, dry surface to get sufficient sunshine. Remember to change the water regularly to prevent fungal-spores deposition; your divisions will grow after 7-10 days.
Growing your Peace Lily Divisions in a Potting Medium
A more traditional method of propagating Peace Lilies is growing their divisions in a soil mix potting. Whether you’re using a root division or a stem division taken from the crown of a mature plant, Peace Lilies will root in a fast-draining potting medium in less than two weeks.
With your divisions fully set, pour some potting mix into the pot and plant the new divisions at a depth of not more than 1 inch on the soil surface. You can have as many divisions in a pot as possible, but ensure there’s adequate spacing for the young divisions to spread.
After planting, you should fill-up the empty spaces around the divisions with more potting mix and water thoroughly until the water drains off the holes. Place the pot at the best spot where it will receive up to 6 hours of indirect sunlight daily and begin to root after 1-2 weeks.
Selecting the Right Soil Mix for your Peace Lily Pots
Peace Lilies are efficient nutrient conservators, but it’s best to propagate them in a richly organic soil mix potting, especially one that’s lightweight and well-aerated.
For best results, always create a homemade lightweight potting mix for your Peace Lilies. Your ingredients should include any commercial cactus potting mix, orchids potting mix, or succulents soil mix, loamy garden soil, coconut coir, Peat moss, and perlite.
The Houseplant Resource Center recommends a blend of Peat moss, perlite, and your commercial potting mix, all in equal proportion. As a general care guide, you should repot your Peace Lilies once every 2-3 years to keep them rejuvenated and refreshed.
Best Growing Conditions for Peace Lily Plants
Do you want your Peace Lilies to give you peace? Then give them bright sunshine for up to 6 hours daily. Peace Lilies are also known as happy plants because one looks at their foliage and blooms at maturity will ease anyone’s frown and fatigue on a stressful day.
They’re such tender darlings whose health and blossoming vitality is directly affected by the prevailing environmental conditions. They also love being under shade or under a window with sufficient indirect sunshine.
Watering Your Peace Lily Pots
Peace Lilies are super easy to propagate, with many signs telling you when they need more water, organic manure, or bright sunshine. Seeing their leaves falling like dog-ears is a good sign that they want more water.
Water them once every one or two weeks during their growing period, usually between spring and summer each year. They like to be kept in a consistently moist environment, so ensure they don’t have to wait too long before the next watering cycle.
They also dislike remaining for long in a damp, soggy soil potting, so ensure the soil mix you’re using has excellent draining properties. A great practice I always employ is making small holes of 1 cm diameter around the sides and bottom of the pots.
It would help if you often watered mature Peace Lilies from the bottom to promote proper growth of the leaves and stems. Pick the pot off its resting position and immerse it into a bowl of clean water for 2-3 minutes, then place it on a flat surface for the water to drain off completely.
Endure the excess water is removed and return the pot to its original position once that’s done. If you’re watering by spraying, misting, or using a humidifier, ensure the topsoil layer gets a good soak and drains off absolutely.
You should always pay close attention to the soil surface as an indicator of your plant’s water needs, and you should also reduce your watering plan if the topsoil appears moist or damp. On the other hand, if the topsoil layer looks dry and crispy, you should water it immediately.
Are Peace Lilies Toxic?
Peace Lilies demonstrate varying degrees of toxicity, from mild to severe, when their leaves or stems are consumed. Immediately after consumption, you may feel burning itches on your lips and fingers, resulting in puffy lips and tongue.
Pets such as cats and dogs can also get irritated by contact with sap or pollens from Peace Lilies if lapped; Their toxicity is caused by the presence of crystalline calcium oxalate molecules in them.
You should always wear a protective gardening coat and gloves during their grooming and propagation. Also, don’t hesitate to get emergency medical help in cases of toxication.
Wrapping Up
Although Peace Lilies technically live for 3-5 years in outdoor environments, they can be propagated and preserved indoors for more than twenty years. They typically only bloom once a year (usually in winter), but if you’re lucky, they can also bloom in the Autumn of the same year.
Their flowering season lasts more than four weeks; but when they do, they appear as pleasantly cloaked white pretty blooms.
Some of their amazing benefits include helping us to breathe clean, purified air and absorbing fungi spores that cause breathing problems. They also help to maintain an averagely humid atmosphere and can be responsible for increasing our psychological serenity, thereby helping us to de-stress.