Houseplant · Araceae
Peace Lily
Spathiphyllum wallisii
An easy, forgiving houseplant that tells you when it's thirsty and rewards a little light with white blooms.
Bright indirect
68–85°F · 20–29°C
USDA 11–12
1–6 ft · 0.3–1.8 m
Overview
The peace lily is one of the easiest houseplants to keep, which is a big part of why it shows up in so many homes and offices. It comes from the wet tropical forests of Colombia and Venezuela, where it grows in the deep shade of the forest floor. That heritage is exactly why it puts up with the low light most rooms can offer.
What people grow it for is the bloom. The white flower isn't really a single flower at all but a spathe, a curved leaf-like hood wrapped around a small spike of true flowers. Set against the glossy dark green leaves, those clean white spathes are the whole appeal, and a happy plant produces them off and on through spring and summer.
It also has a useful habit of asking for water in plain sight. When the soil runs dry the whole plant droops dramatically, then stands back up within hours of a drink. That makes it forgiving for a beginner, though leaving it to wilt again and again will cost you leaves over time.
Care
The short version: bright, indirect light and no direct sun, soil kept evenly moist but never soggy, warmth above 60°F (16°C), and humidity on the high side. Keep it away from pets and children, since every part is an irritant.
Light
Give it bright, indirect light and keep it out of direct sun, which scorches the leaves. It earns its reputation for tolerating low light, but a dim corner buys you foliage and almost no flowers, so somewhere brighter is better if you want blooms.
Water
Keep the soil evenly moist but never soggy, letting just the surface dry between waterings. The plant droops hard when it gets too dry and bounces back within hours of a drink, but don't lean on that as a schedule. Use room-temperature, dechlorinated water and never let the pot sit in a saucer of water.
Soil
Plant it in a rich, well-drained potting mix with plenty of organic matter. It likes things slightly acidic, around a pH of 6.0 or a little below, and good drainage is what keeps the roots out of trouble.
Temperature
Normal room warmth suits it, ideally 68°F to 85°F (20°C to 29°C). It is not frost hardy and starts taking damage in the cold, so keep it well above 40°F (4°C) and away from icy drafts and windows in winter.
Humidity
This is a high-humidity plant at heart, coming from tropical forest. Dry indoor air shows up as brown, crispy leaf tips, so group it with other plants, set it over a pebble tray, or run a humidifier nearby.
Feeding
It needs very little. Feed with a balanced liquid fertilizer at about quarter strength during the spring and summer growth, roughly every 6 to 8 weeks. Too much fertilizer burns the leaf tips brown, so when in doubt, feed less.
Pruning
There's almost nothing to do here. Just cut off yellowed or damaged leaves and spent flower stalks at the base as they appear, which keeps the plant tidy and steers its energy into new growth.
Repotting
Repot every 1 to 2 years, or when roots start poking through the drainage holes, ideally in late winter to early spring. It actually flowers better when kept slightly potbound, so resist the urge to size up too far.
Size & spacing
Indoors it usually stays around 1 to 3 feet, though the largest cultivars can climb to 6 feet (183 cm) tall and spread nearly 5 feet (152 cm) wide. Give a big one room so its arching leaves aren't crammed against a wall.
Troubleshooting
Most peace lily problems trace back to water, light, or salts, and the plant is good at telling you which. A sudden flop means thirst, crispy tips mean a salt or humidity issue, and yellow leaves in wet soil mean the roots are in trouble. Match what you see below before you act.
Yellowing lower leaves in soil that stays wet
Yellow leaves on a plant sitting in soggy soil point to root rot from overwatering. Stop watering, empty any saucer, and check the roots, which turn dark and mushy once they rot. Repot into fresh, well-drained mix, trim away the dead roots, and let the surface dry slightly between waterings from now on.
Fix:
- Stop overwatering and empty any saucer of standing water
- Improve drainage; repot into fresh, well-drained mix and trim away rotted roots
The whole plant collapses, then springs back after a drink
This dramatic flop is just thirst, not damage. The leaves go limp the moment the soil dries out too far, then perk up within a few hours of a thorough watering. Use it as a reminder system if you like, but a plant left to wilt over and over will shed leaves, so water before it gets to that point.
Fix:
- Water thoroughly until water drains from the bottom
- Allow excess water to drain away and do not leave the pot sitting in water
Plenty of leaves but no white blooms
A peace lily that sits in deep shade puts out leaves and skips the flowers. Move it to brighter, indirect light and the spathes usually follow. A young plant or one in its natural off-season may simply need time, since many cultivars bloom mainly from spring into summer.
Fix:
- Move to a brighter spot with bright, indirect light (no direct sun)
- Be patient through the natural spring-to-summer bloom period for season-dependent cultivars
Brown, crispy tips and edges on the leaves
Crispy brown tips usually mean a salt buildup from too much fertilizer or from the chlorine and fluoride in tap water. Flush the pot with plenty of water to wash the salts out, then cut the feed back to about quarter strength and switch to room-temperature, dechlorinated water. Low humidity makes it worse, so raise the moisture in the air around the plant.
Fix:
- Leach the soil with plenty of water to flush excess salts
- Cut fertilizer back to about quarter strength and apply less often
- Water with room-temperature, dechlorinated or distilled water
- Raise humidity around the plant
Toxicity
Despite the soothing name, a peace lily is not safe to chew. Every part holds insoluble calcium oxalate crystals that sting the mouth and throat on contact, causing burning, drooling, and swelling in pets and people alike. It is not a true lily, so it won't cause the deadly kidney failure that Easter lilies bring on in cats, but it still hurts and no part is edible, so keep it out of reach of animals and small children.
Toxic to
Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds · People
Cats Toxic
A cat that bites a leaf gets a mouthful of sharp calcium oxalate crystals, and the burning sets in fast. Expect heavy drooling, pawing at the mouth, and a swollen tongue or lips that can make swallowing hard.
Dogs Toxic
Dogs react the same way cats do, with the same crystals stinging the mouth and throat. Look for drooling, vomiting, and a dog that suddenly won't eat after chewing on the foliage.
Horses Toxic
The crystals irritate a horse just as they do other animals, bringing on mouth pain, drooling, and reluctance to eat. Keep the plant well clear of stables and paddocks.
Rabbits Toxic
Every part holds the same irritant crystals, so a curious rabbit risks a burning mouth and a refusal to feed. Don't let it nibble the leaves.
Livestock Toxic
Cattle, goats, and sheep face the same oral and gut irritation if they get into the foliage. Keep it out of any space grazing animals can reach.
Birds Toxic
A pet bird that chews the leaves can suffer the same mouth and throat burning. House the plant somewhere a bird can never land on it.
People Caution
No part of a peace lily is edible. A bite causes immediate mouth and lip burning, drooling, and swelling, so keep it away from young children who put things in their mouths.
Despite the name it is not a true lily (it is an aroid, Araceae) and is far less dangerous than true Lilium, but it still causes painful oral/GI irritation if chewed
Helpline numbers
United States
ASPCA Animal Poison Control: (888) 426-4435 (fee applies)
Poison Control: (800) 222-1222
Canada
Poison Centres: 1-844-764-7669
Varieties
Peace lilies come in a wide spread of sizes, from desktop dwarfs to floor-filling giants. A few cultivars turn up often enough to know by name.
'Mauna Loa' (and 'Mauna Loa Supreme')
This is the popular large-flowered one you'll find in most shops, carrying big white spathes on a plant that settles in around 2 to 3 feet tall.
'Sensation'
The biggest peace lily of the bunch, it can reach 5 to 6 feet with broad, dramatic leaves that fill a corner on their own.
'Domino'
Its green leaves are streaked and splashed with white, giving a variegated look on a plant that stays around 30 inches tall.
'Petite'
A dwarf, compact cultivar that keeps things small for a desk or a tight windowsill.
How to propagate
There's just one reliable way to make more peace lilies, and it lines up neatly with repotting day.
DivisionEasy
Late winter to early spring, typically when repotting · Several weeks to a few months
Division is the only way to multiply a peace lily, since it won't root from a leaf or a stem cutting. The easiest time is late winter to early spring, right when you'd be repotting anyway. Tip the plant out, pull or cut the clump into sections that each keep their own roots and leaves, and pot them up. Each division takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to settle in and start growing again.
Myths
A peace lily is a true lily and as deadly to cats as Easter lilies.
The peace lily belongs to the arum family, not the true lily family, so it doesn't carry the same danger. The ASPCA does list it as toxic to cats and dogs, but the harm comes from calcium oxalate crystals that burn and irritate the mouth and gut. It does not cause the kidney failure that true lilies and daylilies bring on in cats, though it still hurts and should be kept away from pets.
Peace lilies clean the air and pull toxins out of your home.
The idea traces back to a sealed-chamber study that doesn't reflect a real room. A peer-reviewed analysis of 196 results across 12 such studies found potted plants make no meaningful dent in indoor air quality, and you'd need somewhere between 10 and 1000 plants per square meter to match the air a normal ventilation system already moves.
Sources
- Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
- NC State Extension Plant Toolbox
- ASPCA Animal Poison Control
- Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Clemson Cooperative Extension HGIC
- University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS EP477)
- University of Florida IFAS Extension (EDIS EP320)
- Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (Cummings & Waring, 2020; PubMed)