Why Is My Peace Lily Not Blooming - Causes & How to Get Them Bloom
The Peace Lily (spathiphyllum spp.) is an undemanding and popular houseplant. It has delightful, spear-shaped green leaves but is mainly grown for its white spathes, which many people think of as flowers. It's usually possible to solve the issue and restore your Peace Lily plant to health if it is not blooming.
Insufficient lighting is the most frequent cause of a Peace Lily's failure to bloom. A plant that is old or rooted-bound, inadequate watering, inadequate fertilizer, or temperature issues are some other typical causes. Once proper care is resumed, a peace lily will begin to bloom once more.
Why is My Peace Lily Not Blooming?
Insufficient lighting is the most frequent cause of a Peace Lily not blooming. Other frequent causes include fertilizer, temperature issues, or watering. Read More: How Much Light Does a Peace Lily NeedThe majority of peace lilies come from Venezuela, Colombia, and Central America. They flourish in the dense tropical rain forests there. If you want to keep your plant in perfect condition, you must reproduce these conditions.
Although it might seem a little challenging, doing that is really quite simple. The forest offers bright, shaded surroundings that are free of direct sunlight. Additionally, it guarantees a consistent supply of moisture in soil that drains freely. Read More: What Is The Best Soil For Peace Lily
Lack of Light
Although the Peace Lily is fairly hardy and will survive even in somewhat unfavorable conditions, it won't flower if the lighting conditions aren't right. Although this plant has attractive, evergreen leaves, it is cultivated primarily for the flowers. Read More: Peace Lily Drooping & Keep Wilting
The lighting should always be addressed first in order to promote flowering. In many ways, poor lighting is among the simplest plant issues to resolve.
Your Peace Lily won't have enough energy to bloom in low light levels. Even though they can tolerate lower light levels for a while, they frequently produce fewer and fewer blooms over time and frequently stop blooming altogether.
Bright, indirect light will help your Peace Lily grow and bloom much more quickly and profusely. While avoiding direct sunlight, you should place your plant near a window.
Natural Conditions
These plants begin to bloom during the shorter winter days in the wild. As the days become longer during late winter and spring, the plant produces flowers sporadically. Today, there are modern cultivars such as ‘Little Angel', ‘Mini' and ‘Connie' which will provide flowers over a longer period.
It should be noted that the flowers of the Peace Lily are actually tiny insignificant blooms dotted along the spadix, which is the stick-like protrusion in the middle of what is thought to be the flower.
Once you've found the perfect spot for your plant and it begins to cheerfully produce flowers, you should regularly deadhead to promote new blooms.
Insufficient Nutrients
Regular feedings of a balanced, water-soluble house plant food are necessary for peace lilies. A plant won't blossom if there are insufficient nutrients available to it. This can happen if the plant has not been repotted for several years, or if you almost never fertilize your Peace Lily.
Look for a fertilizer with a 20-20-20 nutrient value. This will promote robust growth across the entire plant. If you err towards a fertilizer that is too heavy in nitrogen this will boost leaf grow but at the expense of flowers. Once you have fertilized your plant, be sure to water well afterward so that the fertilizer drains through to the whole root system.
Read more: Peace Lily Root Rot - Signs & How to Save
- When To Feed To Promote Blooming
You should fertilize your plant every two to three weeks in the warmer spring and summer months. You can lower this to every 6 to 8 weeks in the cooler months. You might occasionally want to add coffee grinds as a top dressing in addition to chemical fertilizer. This will provide your plant with a little extra nutrient boost.
Even though a little fertilizer can go a long way toward boosting your Peace Lily's blooming potential, too much fertilizer can actually do more harm to your plant than too little. Excess fertilizer will damage the roots and can result in a plant that not only fails to bloom but can get very sickly indeed. Never use more fertilizer than is recommended. I always dilute fertilizers for general-purpose plants to half the recommended strength for my houseplants.
Overwatering
Another critical factor when it comes to encouraging your Peace Lily to flower is the correct watering procedure. These plants do not like their feet to become soggy as this promotes root rot.
Deeply mist your plant until you see water coming out of the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot. After that, allow the plant to nearly dry out before you water peace lily again. A slightly damp but not soggy growing medium is what you want to achieve.
Your plant will alert you if you are overwatering it by displaying generalized yellow leaves, wilting, and turning brown at the leaf tips and edges. A severe case of overwatering can cause root rot, which can spell disaster for your plant. Read More: Why Do My Peace Lily Leaves Tips Turning Brown
Peace Lily Need to Be Repotted?
If your Peace Lily is not blooming and roots are growing thickly out of the bottom of the pot, it could well be that it needs to be repotted. You might also observe that the plant dries out right away after being watered. Your Peace Lily won't bloom if the roots are crowded and nutrients are scarce.
Replant the plant into a pot that is the next size larger after carefully removing it from its current container. Avoid giving in to the urge to plant into a much larger pot because this will promote waterlogging. Whenever you pot a plant on, always make sure that there is sufficient drainage in the bottom to allow water to flow away freely.
- Read More: How Long Do Peace Lilies Last
Low Temperature
Even though the Peace Lily is not particularly sensitive to temperature, if you can provide the ideal range of temperatures, it will flower more. During the winter months your plant should not go below 60-65°F (15.5-18°C).
The ideal temperature range for the plant in the spring is between 70 and 75 °F (21-24 °C). You will encourage a longer flowering season and an all-around happier plant if you can reach these temperatures. These plants hate extreme cold and draughts so these are two scenarios that should be avoided in order to prevent your plant from succumbing.
- Read More: How To Grow Peace Lilies Outdoors
Dividing Your Peace Lily
A peace lily lives for roughly five years on average. Even though plants may live longer than this, they typically have much fewer flowers as they age. When your plant starts to become root-bound, you can divide it to give it new life.
You should be able to pull the root ball apart with your fingers once you can see that the plant has filled the entire pot it is in by gently tapping it out of the container. If the roots have become too bound together you may need to use a sharp knife to divide the root ball.
Two to three new plants, ready to be potted, should result from the division of a healthy part plant. These plants will continue to flourish with new vigor. It is unlikely that you will see flowers before the end of the following winter because division should occur in the spring. Read More: Why Is My Peace Lily Dying - 5 Reasons & How to Revive
Is It Hard to Get a Peace Lily to Bloom?
No, getting a Peace Lily to bloom is not difficult. Peace lilies flower when you provide them with sufficient light, water and fertilizer. The best blooms will be your reward if the right growing conditions are given to them.
Why Are My Peace Lily Flowers Green?
Greening of peace lily flowers is typical. A peace lily flower changes from green to yellow to brown and eventually dies as the plant ages and grows.
In excess of direct sunlight, peace lily flowers can also turn green. If a flower turns green, your peace lily is unaffected. Everything will be fine for the peace lily. You can move it out of the way of the sun if you want it to maintain its white color longer.
In Conclusion
If your Peace Lily is not blooming, it is likely that there is a problem with its care. The most typical cause is inadequate lighting, so start here. Take some time to ensure the plant is receiving what it needs because issues with fertilizer and watering are also frequent. You can check my Peace Lily care guide to make sure you're getting all the basics right too.
You might want to read these articles to see if you can identify the issue if your peace lily exhibits other symptoms in addition to not blooming.
Frequently Asked Questions About Peace Lilies and Blooms
What Should I Do With the Dead Bloom on My Peace Lily?
It is best to remove all of your plant's dead blooms so that new ones can grow in their place.
Are the Flowers on My Peace Lily Toxic?
Non-human animals like dogs and cats are also poisoned by the Peace Lily's blooms. Never try to eat them, and keep kids and pets away from them.
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