Spathiphyllum Species, Peace Lily

We had great success with the Peace Lilly with nominal care. We lived in Indianapolis and had the plant inside under a window on the sou...Read Moreth side of the house. It literally went nuts. There was a proliferation of blossoms and we repotted it a few times. It started out from a little gift. Now, in a new house in Chicago, we're trying to re-create that experience, but this time with out access to a south side window. We have had a plant by a north side window for a couple years, and it's OK, but we haven't had the proliferation of blossoms.

I bought several spaths at my local home depot for ONE cent each! They werent doing so great indoors so i was adventurous and planted the...Read Morem outdoors (im in zone 9b/10a in central CA). To my surprise, they grew well under an Australian tree fern and flowered during the summer months.Last January (2007) we experienced a severe freeze with temperatures dipping into the low 20s for a little over a week. I thought the spaths were surely dead, but to my surprise, they resprouted during the summer. Speak about a tough "houseplant"

This plant is impressive in it's resilience.

I had gotten this plant as a gift about 7yrs ago. I didn't really know how t...Read Moreo grow it and I thought it wasn't doing very well, so I stuck it outside in direct sunlight and burned the leaves badly. Those eventually died and the plant looked just sad. Then it just grew back. My husband called it the "miracle plant", as it survived one of my black thumb events.

I only just repotted it this past summer after it was sorely overdue. It's still thriving well and I even have a little off-shoot that I ended up planting in a smaller pot. It's doing very well, even after surviving an overwatering episode.

I haven't fertilized it once. After it got a bit healthy again after my unintentional multiple attempts to kill it, it's been blooming/shooting it's flower stalk about 2-3 times a year. It sits in a bright location and seems to be doing well.

As for the person that had issues with their cat chewing on it: I've been reading about more and more plants and it seems like most of them are poisonous (ruling out herbs). I have all my plants high off the ground so that none of my cats will chew on them. And yes, my cats and the Peace Lily has survived a "chewing". :)

I received this plant as a gift over 4 years ago and it's definitely a tough plant. Mine has been frozen (left it outside when it froste...Read Mored), chewed on by cats, and neglected, but it always comes back. It loves to be outside in the summer in a shady, protected spot.

About it being poisonous to cats - certain parts of this plant are poisonous, but from what I've been told, not all (I believe it's the flowers that are poisonous). None of our cats have been poisoned from chewing the foliage. (We recently bought a new baker's rack for our kitchen and the plant is on the top shelf, which is too high for our cats to get at.)

Woe be the south Florida gardener that tries to plant these in full sun. They will burn up like Dracula in daylight. I have the white Wal...Read Morelisii growing deep in my garden shade all year round. They never cease to amaze me with their constant barrage of white blooms and deep green foliage.

I also have the heart-shaped pink variety that have small petals and blooms. I forgot the variety or common name,
but I think it's the name of a woman....see specimen. I should buy some more of them and plant them in a shady spot next to my front door under a large stand of heliconia jacquinii where some aglaonemas are also protected and flourishing.

Although sometimes accused of being "boring" because of its constant appearance & claimed overuse in malls & offices, this plant surely i...Read Mores a boon to the plantlover who may not have the optimum bright light conditions to maintain other species, or who might want/need something that will survive in a dimmer room.

Also terrific for those who don't consider themselves as having "green thumbs", as it is nearly impossible to kill. While it does enjoy some light feeding, the most important requirement is moisture, as allowing it to dry out will cause it to wilt - although sometimes that's a good barometer for those of us who can sometimes be forgetful about watering. It quickly recovers once the oversight is corrected.

If given fairly bright light, this plant will send up it's pristine white flower spathes nearly constantly. However, do not subject it to too much direct sunlight, as it sunburns easily. Plant also enjoys a occasional shower, which will keep those lovely leaves shiny & dust-free.

I received a peace lily plant from my grandfather's funeral this past January. It is quite large and no one else wanted it because of th...Read Moree space it takes up (approx 3 ft tall). I have two other small peace lilies and really enjoy the lush greenery all year round. When I brought the plants home, they were all blooming, but haven't bloomed since. Are there any hints to get them to bloom?

I have two of them at work. One was recently re-potted into something bigger to encourage growth, and the other acts as the top of my Be...Read Moreta Vase. I knew that the lily would like being in a container of water, but I didn't realize just how happy it would be! My plant is growing in leaps and bounds, and the leaves are growing huge. I just hope it doesn't crowd my fish out of the base of the vase.

After reading these other entries I guess I should consider myself lucky(?) When I bought mine from the plant nursery they were labeled "...Read Moreperennial, spathiphyllum". Being a novice, I figured they were outside plants, planted them in containers & added them to my garden. They get half sun/half shade, were covered during the freeze, died back, came back & are currently blooming among many shade-loving plants.

Due to back problems, my plants do not get a lot of fuss. They get misted a.m./p.m., watered on days there is no rain, repotted annually, get any needed root divisions & fertilized with Osmocote (coated, granular fertilizer.) I use a mixture of 1/2 all purpose potting mix, 1/2 top soil, plus cow manure, perlite, peat moss, and Ironite (Iron chelate.)

I have three of these plants, the first belonged to my grandmother, who gave it to my mother, and - when it got too big for mom - I got ...Read Moreit. Grandmother had it over 20 years, mom had it for 10 or more and I have had it for about 18 years. One is huge (and now over 50 years old); the next one is not as big; I inherited it also. The last is in a hanging basket I purchased.

These are great plants to grow - I put all of mine outside in the spring and bring them back inside in fall before frost. They thrive; I feed all of my plants with Miracle-gro (water-soluble fertilizer) every few weeks.

San Antonio, Tx.
My husband's peace lily (closet plant, white flag) was given to him when he was in the hospital 4 months ago. I h...Read Moread never realized how fast they grow until now. It has almost doubled in size. My mother was given an 8 inch tall one about the same time and it has grown rapdly also. The blooms are in proportion to the plant size. 'Sensation' can grow to six feet high and wide. They can tolerate being outside in filtered shade in warm weather and grow more rapidly under this condition. Requiring little care and little light, they are one of the most frequently used plants in the interiorscapes of office buildings.

Spathiphyllum will prosper in almost any well drained soil. Most producers use a mixture containing sand, peat moss and bark. Water weekly keeping the soil moist, but not soggy. Permit the soil to dry out between waterings, but do not leave dry for an extended period of time. Stem and root rot from overwatering are the most commom problems. Requiring less food because they grow slower, in an indoor setting they usually do not need to be fertilized. If one chooses to fertilize, use a well balanced fertilizer such as 20-20-20 at a 1/4 strength. Burned roots and tips occur from over fertilization. When repotting, do not over pot. This encourages lots of roots at the expense of new leaf production.

Optimal temperature are between 68-85 degrees daytime with a 10 degree drop at night. Temperatures in the 40's and 50's will slow growth uith extended periods below 40 damaging leaves, stems and roots. They can withstand 10-15% humidity, but above 25-30% is best. Most commercially grown plants are propagated from clones or tissue culture.

I repotted this plant about a month ago and it has more than doubled in size. I can't wait for it to bloom this year. I have kept it on...Read More our screened in porch and the filtered sun has done the plant wonders. It gets about a half a day of dappled, filtred sunlight. I feed it with Peter's (water-soluble plant food) about once a month or so.

Typical plant in tropical gardens, Peace Lily has large, shiny, dark green leaves that contrast with the white inflorescences. These are ...Read Moresaid to be scented, but I never sensed it from this species (others, though, have a rather strong perfume). It requires moist, well drained organic soil. Grows well on partial shade, but tolerates darker places. I have one in half shade, and my grandpa in full shade, and both are doing great. The sun light will burn the leaves. Great house plant if you can avoid air currents.