Peace Lily

These popular plants provide an evergreen presence in a home year round. Grow these plants because they always look good with their shiny leaves. The flowers are unusual, produced on long stalks that grow from and over the plant itself. Those in not such good health will have smaller flowers right down to a miniature size. They are not unlike the Anthurium

The flower head called a spathe surrounds a spadix, which is the long protrusion.

The flower itself lasts approximately a week and then starts to change from white to green. This then lasts for a few more weeks. They are reasonably hardy plants. They have to be living at my house! They prefer medium light conditions as direct sunlight will burn their leaves particularly next to a window.  Keep an eye on plants, not just these, as they all need to adjust to the light and temperature conditions of the room in which they live.

I do put them out side in our warmer months in a warm sheltered spot out of cold winds way.

Watering pot plants is the nemesis of a lot of would be plant lovers. How ever, I find that watering sufficiently so that when you pick up the pot in passing it feels heavyish. When the weather turns cold, reduce the watering regime. Peace lilies prefer not to dry out and they will show you by dropping their leaves and looking sad! Perking up again very quickly after a drink. From the early onset of spring, give them liquid fertilizer every two or three weeks through to late autumn.

Repot the plants every year into a larger pot up to a size that suits you.  Use a good potting mix, peat based is preferable.

Increase the numbers of your plants easily by dividing the rhizomes of the big plants into smaller pieces. In addition, plant them into their individual small pots for on growing. Give them a chance to settle and grow. Do not bother with fertilizer for a while until they look as if they are growing nicely under their own steam.

Choosing the variety to suit your home depends on what is available in your area. Some can reach a massive 90 cms high while others a mere 30 cms in height. You may like to sponge their leaves to keep them free of the dust and slight fat coating that sometimes affects the rooms we live in.  They are not prone to many problems but a close watch on them will reveal any mite infestations. Mist spraying them frequently particularly under the leaves will keep the mites in check.

As the hippies used to say, “Peace”