Peace Lily
Peace Lily is a vegetable in the Araceae family. It grows best in part shade to full shade with medium moisture, and is listed for USDA zones 10-12.
Varieties
1 · sorted by days to maturity▸Peace Lily
PROPAGATION CATEGORY: Tropical houseplant (division) (not in original seed catalog). Use: Glossy foliage and white flower spathes; low light. Note: Toxic to pets if chewed.
Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii) is a popular flowering houseplant that blooms with white spathes even in low light and dramatically wilts as a watering reminder.
Growing notes: Botanical name: Spathiphyllum wallisii|Hardiness zones: 10-12|Propagation: division|Light: Low to bright indirect light|Water: Medium|Mature size: 1-3 feet
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Start your free plan →Peace Lily care at a glance
Medium, indirect light suits it; it survives genuinely low light but stops flowering there. No hot direct sun.
Water when the top inch starts to dry — a peace lily telegraphs thirst by drooping dramatically, then springs back within hours of a drink.
Average rooms are fine; higher humidity reduces brown leaf tips.
Keep above 55°F — cold damage starts below that.
A peaty, well-draining mix that holds gentle moisture.
Dilute balanced fertilizer every 6 weeks or so in spring and summer — overfeeding greens the flowers.
In winter: Let it dry a little deeper between winter waterings.
Calcium oxalate crystals in all parts — chewing causes mouth burning, drooling, and vomiting in pets, and irritation in people. (Not a true lily — it doesn't cause kidney failure in cats — but keep it out of reach.)
Pet listing per the ASPCA Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants database.
How to propagate peace lily
Division
- Unpot and pull the clump apart at natural crowns, each with leaves and roots.
- Pot divisions into fresh mix at their original depth.
- Water in and keep lightly moist in medium light.
- Expect a sulky week or two, then normal growth.
Common peace lily problems
Why is my peace lily drooping?
Likely cause: Thirst, most often — the famous full-plant wilt. But if the soil is already wet, the same droop means root rot.
Fix: Dry soil: water thoroughly; it rebounds in hours. Wet soil: check for mushy roots, trim them, repot into fresh mix, and water less — the droop that doesn't recover after watering is the rot version.
Why won't my peace lily flower?
Likely cause: Not enough light — the classic reason a healthy-looking peace lily never blooms.
Fix: Move it to brighter indirect light and feed lightly in the growing season; the white spathes follow within a few months.
Why are my peace lily's leaf tips brown?
Likely cause: Tap-water minerals (it's fluoride-sensitive), fertilizer salts, or dry air.
Fix: Water with filtered or day-old tap water, flush the pot every couple of months, ease off the fertilizer, and trim tips cleanly.
Why are my peace lily's flowers green instead of white?
Likely cause: Spathes naturally green as they age; heavy feeding and strong light accelerate it.
Fix: Cut spent stems at the base and feed less — new blooms open white.
Care profile compiled from extension and horticultural society guidance and the ASPCA toxic-plants list. Conditions vary by home — treat ranges as starting points.
At a glance
Storing & preserving
Most keep best refrigerated; storage crops prefer a cool, dry spot.
- Freeze: Blanch briefly, cool, then freeze — keeps color and texture.
- Can: Pressure-can low-acid vegetables; water-bath only pickled/acidified ones.
General home-preservation guidance — for tested processing times and safety, follow the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
Growing timeline
Care & troubleshooting
No curated care & troubleshooting advice for peace lily yet. Our extension-sourced library currently focuses on common edible crops; we're expanding it over time.