How Long Do Peace Lily Flowers Bloom? (And How To Care)
Featuring gorgeous white flowers and vibrant green leaves, peace lily are easy to grow and adaptable to low light environments. This easy to grow indoor houseplant is a rewarding plant that is fun to grow. But how long does a peace lily bloom?
How Long Is Peace Lily Bloom Time?
A healthy peace lily can bloom for 1 to 2 months. This means that the peace lily’s flowers can stay lush and healthy looking for 4-8 weeks!
Peace lily plant care is essential if you want the pretty white blooms to last. Growing conditions affect the health of the plant and how long the flower blooms will stay vibrant and fresh looking.
As with all indoor plants, peace lily have specific conditions which they enjoy best. The right soil, water, light and humidity will encourage them to stay healthy and produce blooms.
Read on to learn how to encourage your peace lily to bloom and how to care for the flowers after they fade.
About Peace Lilies
Peace lilies are a vibrant evergreen plant native to tropical regions of Southeast Asia as well as South American areas (such as Columbia and Venezuela).
They are not a true lily, but a lush tropical plant that adapt well to warm indoor conditions.
In their native environment peace lily live on a forest floor beneath a canopy of other trees with limited light. The light they do receive is dappled through larger plants and trees. They enjoy high humidity and consistent moisture in their native homes.
When grown as a houseplant, they enjoy a warm, humid environment and do not require a large amount of water or light, making them a versatile plant for indoor gardeners.
The trick to getting these beautiful plants to bloom is to recreate a similar growing environment in your home. Recreating the right conditions for your peace lily will encourage beautiful peace lily blooming!
When grown indoors, peace lily thrive in indirect sunlight and can even tolerate a lower light level than many houseplants.
Peace lilies need well draining, moist soil and a container that has holes in the bottom of the pot. Soil must be kept consistently moist but never water logged. (Read on for more tips!).
Did you know? A peace lily is also known as a White Spathe. Spathiphyllum is the genus featuring over 40 different kinds of peace lily plants. These gorgeous evergreen plants feature shiny leaves and beautiful white flowers.
Gibberellic Acid + Peace Lily Blooms
Gibberellic acid is a natural plant hormone that stimulates stem growth and blooming. This hormone is often used by commercial growers to stimulate the production of a peace lilies flower.
These forced blooms are often the reason why you see so many peace lily blooms in grocery store plants!
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How Often Will Peace Lilies Bloom?
When given good care, your peace lily will typically bloom twice a year: once in the spring and again the fall. With the right care, the beautiful white blooms last a long time, typically a month to two months.
Get our list of the most aesthetically pleasing indoor plants here.
When Do Peace Lilies Bloom?
Peace lilies typically bloom in late spring to early summer. They can sometimes bloom again in fall.
Proper care is essential for keeping peace lily plants healthy and encouraging blooms.
Enough diffused but bright light, proper watering, the right soil and humidity levels are all essential to keeping your peace lily plant happy and healthy. And happy peace lilies will bloom!
How To Get Your Peace Lily to Bloom (Ideal Conditions)
Every plant has their own preferences when it comes to light, water and soil, and peace lily are no different!
To get beautiful peace lily flowers, do your best to meet your plant’s needs, mimicking it’s native tropical conditions.
Here’s how:
Light
Peace lilies crave bright, indirect or diffused sunlight in order to thrive and produce blooms. It’s important to make sure the plant gets enough sunlight while avoiding direct sunlight (which can burn the leaves).
While peace lilies are flexible with the light they receive, the best light for peace lilies is bright indirect light, or diffused light.
Since peace lilies naturally grow under a canopy of larger fauna, they are used to their light source being diffused.
Peace lilies can tolerate low light conditions, but this may impact their ability to bloom. Make sure your plant is getting enough diffused/indirect light per day.
Avoid keeping them in a dark room, unless you have supplemental lighting.
Peace lilies need to get enough light in order to thrive and produce blooms, but they don’t want too much direct sunlight on them. Direct sunlight can cause the leaves of peace lilies to burn.
If you do not get enough light in your home to sustain your peace lily, you can supplement with a grow light. This need can fluctuate with the time of year and seasons (homes in the Northern hemisphere may benefit from supplement grow lights in winter).
If your peace lily does not receive enough indirect light, it will not bloom. This is one of the most common reasons for lack of blooms.
We have grown peace lilies in a variety of different lighting conditions. One peace lily in a bathroom with an east-facing windows, and it received lots of indirect morning light (about 6 hours). This peace lily thrived and produced flowers. We had another peace lily that grew in a downstairs living room with a few windows. This plant received diffused afternoon light. This plant had healthy green leaves, but did not bloom.
Peace lilies are very versatile, but they do need source of consistent indirect light each day.
Water
On average, peace lily need to be watered every 7-10 days. They are a moisture loving plant, so don’t neglect watering this beauty and make sure to give enough water.
The top inch of soil should always retain some moisture to it. If a peace lily leaves start to droop it is definitely time to water.
Keep in mind that watering needs will range depending on the climate, season and location of your plant. If you live in a dry environment your plant may need more water than a peace lily growing in a more humid area. And your peace lily may need more water in the hot summer months then in the cool of spring.
What type of water should you use for your peace lily? Fresh water in the form of rainwater is actually the best source!
We review the best water for houseplants here (everything from tap water to filtered water and more!). Make sure the water you use for indoor peace lilies is tepid, mimicking the moderate temperatures of their native habitat.
Water your peace lily thoroughly until you see liquid flowing out of the drainage holes.
Humidity Level
Peace lily enjoy moderate to high humidity. Keep the humidity range around 50-60% for optimal peace lily care.
The humidity level refers to how much moisture is in the air. Different plants prefer different levels of humidity, and peace lilies are tropical plants that prefer humidity levels to be a bit higher.
If your environment tends to have lower humidity levels, it’s a good idea to increase the humidity to promote the plant’s health. Try using a humidifier and filling it with distilled water to increase the humidity levels in your home.
Soil
The best soil to keep peace lilies happy will allow for both retention of moisture and good drainage. The plant needs to stay hydrated but not water logged.
Perlite, peat moss and coconut coir are commonly added to peace lily soil to encourage moisture retention and good drainage.
We have used and had good results with Miracle Gro potting mix for peace lily. This blend is a good balance for peace lily as it contains coconut coir which helps promote water retention and good drainage at the same time!
Containers
The most important part of choosing a container for your peace lily plant is making sure it has drainage holes. The drainage holes will prevent water pooling at the bottom of the roots, which will cause root rot.
Water sitting in the bottom of the plant can also cause the plant to produce fungus and attract insects like fungus gnats, which love wet soil.
Room Temperature
Because they come from a tropical climate, the right temperature for peace lilies is between 65 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Did you know cold temperatures can actually deter your peace lily from producing blooms? Since peace lilies naturally come from a warm climate, they’ll want the same treatment in your home. And if you can give them optimal warm temperatures they will be more likely to bloom and thrive.
For best results, avoid placing your peace lily in areas that receive cold drafts (like right next to a window during the winter months).
Likewise, air conditioners in the summer months can dry out the plant and create an environment that is too cold for flowering.
Peace lily not blooming? Cold temperatures can be a culprit!
A peace lily will start out with green flowers that turn bright white. Eventually the flower fades and turns brown. It can then be pruned.
When To Remove Spent/ Dead Flowers
Once your peace lily blooms, you may be wondering when to remove the spent flowers. The bloom will typically last for a month or even longer.
Eventually, the flower will begin to wilt and turn brown. It will take on a spent, crumpled appearance. This is the tell-tale sign that you can remove the flower.
Dead heading peace lilies is an essential part of their care and maintenance. Doing so will allow the plant to take the energy spent on the flower and put it into it’s leaves and roots.
How To Remove Dead Peace Lily Flowers
Once the peace lily flowers take on a brown, shriveled appearance, it’s time to deadhead the flower.
To remove the spent flower, take a pair of clean pair of clippers or shears (always disinfect first) and make a clean diagonal cut on the flower stem near the base of the plant.
Regularly removing spent blooms will allow the plant to put it’s energy into the roots and leaves, and eventually into forming new blooms!
Cleaning A Peace Lily
Peace lily plants tend to collect dust on their beautiful leaves. This can limit how much light the plant receives. To clean your plant, simply use a damp cloth and gently wipe the leaves.
Peace Lily Not Blooming? (Common Problems)
Here are the top reasons your peace lily may not be blooming:
- Low light Although peace lily can tolerate lower levels of light than many houseplants, she does need some light in order to bloom. If you are keeping your plant in a particularly dark area this may be contributing to the lack of blooms. Try moving your peace lily to a brighter area and see if this helps! (Avoid direct sunlight).
- Lack of water. As we mentioned, peace lilies love to stay hydrated! These plants do not retain water like many other houseplants. They need to be watered regularly and the soil should be kept consistently moist. If your plant is being given drought like conditions it may fail to thrive and produce blooms. One of the main reasons for lack of blooms can be plant drought.
- Too much fertilizer. With fertilizer, too much of a good thing can quickly become a bad thing! Using the wrong type of fertilizer or fertilizing too much can promote the growth of plant leaves and limit blooms. Keep fertilizing to a minimum.
- Age. In the first year of life young peace lilies do not flower. A new plant is putting it’s energy into establishing a healthy root system and growing it’s leaves! Young plants typically do not flower, and you may just need some time before you see the plant mature and begin it’s flowering cycle.
FAQ’s
Yellowing leaves on a peace lily are usually caused by problems with it’s light source. Too much light can cause yellowing of leaves, and if the plant is not receiving enough light this can also cause yellow leaves! Make sure your plant receives bright, indirect light. Stress from receiving too little water (drought), and over watering can also cause yellowing. In a nutshell, make sure to give the plant the right amounts of sunlight and water for it to thrive! (Old leaves will also turn yellow and die, you can simply remove these!).
Like most plants, peace lilies bloom in cycles. In order to keep your peace lily blooming, make sure you remove spent blooms as soon as they lose their vibrancy and are brown. To keep your peace lily blooming, make sure it gets enough bright indirect light (8-10 hours/day), and water every 7-10 days.
How often a peace lily blooms will depend on it’s age and growing conditions. When healthy, a peace lily will bloom once to twice a year. Encourage it’s blooming cycle by giving the plant the right kind of light, water, soil and humidity.
Typically a peace lily plant will live for 3 to 5 years. But given the right conditions peace lily can outlive the lifespan! Treat your peace lily with care and reap the reward of a longer lifespan.
Final Thoughts
With beautiful dark green leaves and stunning bright white flowers, peace lily are a must have plant for the indoor garden.
Peace lily are one of the most popular houseplants due to their easy growing nature and ability to tolerate conditions with little light.
The best way to see beautiful white flowers on your peace lily is to give them the loving care that they need. Give them an environment that mimics the natural tropical home they are used to with enough water, bright indirect light, and moderately high humidity.
We hope this helps you in your houseplant journey. May you and your plants be blessed!