Ask the Expert: Peace Lily
Do I have to trim my peace lily?
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Kim,
The only time I trim (prune) my peace lily is when the bloom is spent or I have an unattractive leaf that needs to be removed.
What can I do to make sure my plant keeps flowering. I have a couple other plants and they never seem to put on any flowers. I love the look of the green leaves but would love to see more flowers.
Patty,
There are a few things that can be done to encourage blooming. Always remove spent blooms – remove the bloom stalk at the base of the stem. During the growing cycle keep the plant evenly moist – over-watering and under watering can inhibit blooming. Water the plant when the soil becomes slightly dry. Humidity is beneficial in encouraging blooming. Lightly mist your peace lily occasionally. Check temperature and air flow; temperature swings can inhibit blooming. Keep your peace lily away from drafts or heat/air vents. If possible keep the room temperature around 72degrees during the day and no lower than 65 degrees at night. Although peace lilies tolerate low-light levels, the major cause of insufficient blooming is lack of light. You may need to increase light exposure to achieve blooming. If you haven’t fertilized your peace lily use a well balanced fertilize at least once a month. These suggestions may already point to the lack of blooming cause; if the cause is not clear start a process of elimination. Try one or two suggestions and wait a couple of weeks – hopefully they will result in blooms. Keep trying different combination of the suggestions until you get the blooms you want. Good luck.
How do you cut the leaf itself when it has holes in certain different areas or brown tips?
When a leaf has more than a slight brown tip that needs to be remove, I will cut the whole leaf off. Follow the leaf stem to the base of the plant and cut it off.