How long do peace lilies flower for and how to extend it

Peace lilies are one of the most popular houseplants and for good reason. Their luscious foliage and statement flower spikes bring both leafy interest and beautiful blooms to interiors.

If you’ve just started caring for a peace lily, or perhaps you’re trying to decide if you want to add one to your collection, you might be asking yourself ‘how long do peace lilies flower for?’ Well, peace lilies are actually indoor plants that flower all year round, sometimes for multiple months at a time. If your peace lily seems to have had a short flowering season, it likely means something in its growing environment needs adjusting.

Here, a houseplant experts breaks down exactly how long you can expect to enjoy peace lily flowers for at a time and what affects this, as well as tips to get peace lilies to bloom for longer.

How long do peace lilies flower for?

Peace Lily close up

(Image credit: Getty Images / Galina Tolochko)

‘Peace lily flowers can last for one or two months,’ says Lisa Eldred Steinkopf, plant expert at The Houseplant Guru. There are, however, some factors that can affect this.

‘If any plant dries out while it’s blooming, it will shorten the flower’s bloom time,’ Lisa explains. This is especially true for peace lilies which don’t enjoy sitting in dry soil. Allowing your peace lily to dry out will lead to a droopy peace lily and premature fading flowers. To avoid this, use this soil moisture meter from Amazon to help you maintain consistent moisture levels.

The good news is even when your peace lily does stop blooming, it’s likely it will flower soon again. ‘Peace lilies can bloom any time of the year as long as they have the correct light and are healthy,’ Lisa explains. It’s typical for these planta to bloom twice a year – once in spring and once in fall- but, in the right conditions they can flower at any point, as Lisa notes.

To help encourage returning blooms, don’t forget to cut away the faded bloom spikes once your peace lily has finished flowering. It’s important to deadhead indoor flowering plants like this to conserve energy for reblooming. Just make sure to make clean cuts using essential pruning tools – like these pruning shears from Amazon.

Lisa Eldred Steinkopf

Lisa is a houseplant expert who runs her blog The Houseplant Guru with over a decade of professional experience at Steinkopf Nursery and Garden Center in Michigan. As a child, Lisa helped her grandma tend to African violets and other houseplants. Since then, Lisa has forged a career providing houseplant advice, holding lectures and writing for publications across the US.

How to get peace lilies to bloom for longer

peace lily flower

(Image credit: perfectlab / iStock / Getty Images Plus / Getty Images)

Although it’s natural for a peace lily to come to the end of a flowering cycle, Lisa reveals there are some things you can do to encourage peace lilies to bloom for longer.

‘It’s as simple as keeping the plant well-watered and in the correct light to help the flowers last longer,’ she says.

It’s a common indoor plant mistake to not keep flowering plants, including peace lilies, African violets, and orchids, somewhere bright. All flowering plants, indoor and out, require sufficient light levels to bloom.

For this reason, choose a bright windowsill for your flowering peace lily. However, take care to avoid a direct sun position which could cause leaf scorch to this delicate plant’s foliage and turn a peace lily yellow.

‘Never let them dry out, either,’ Lisa says. ‘Many people think that allowing the plant to collapse is the cue they give to let you know they need water. While they do recover after water is applied, it’s best to not let it get to this stage if you want to maximize the length of blooms,’ she explains.

You should likewise use methods to increase humidity for indoor plants to provide an optimal growing environment for your peace lily. They’re native to tropical rainforests of Central and South America and prefer humidity levels between 50-60% – monitor your home’s humidity with this humidity meter from Amazon.

Another thing you can do to get peace lilies to bloom for longer is fertilize your peace lily. While this won’t directly cause blooming, it will keep your plant in good health, Lisa says, which is key to longer flowering.

Take care to only fertilize peace lilies (with peace lily fertilizer from Amazon) when they are actively growing and blooming, however, otherwise you could face houseplant root rot or root burn.

FAQs

Why isn’t my peace lily flowering?

There are a few reasons your peace lily may not be flowering. They require plenty of bright light to flower and will struggle to bloom in a low-light position. It might also be that their potting soil is nutrient-poor and your peace lily would benefit from some fertilizer. As well as getting their growing conditions right, it’s also worth knowing peace lilies typically only start blooming between the age of one and three. Young plants are still establishing their root system and foliage, rather than focusing on blooming.

Making your peace lily bloom for longer isn’t the only way to get the most out of these beautiful plants. You can also place your peace lily in certain parts of the home to bring balance, prosperity and positivity, according to Feng Shui. Likewise, grow peace lilies outdoors in US hardiness zone 10+ to enjoy their flowers in the yard.

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