How to Care for your Peace Plant

The Peace Plant also known as Peace Lily, Closet Plant and officially Spathiphyllum or Spath for short is an easy to care for species of plant and one of the most popular house plants available. It is an evergreen herbaceous perennial related to the anthurium family. Despite it’s name it is related to the anthurium family and is not a true Lily from the Liliaceae family of plants. It has large dark green foliage and in the spring produces white green or greenish white flowers with a prominent stamen.

It is a native of tropical jungle areas in South America and Asia and this will give you clues as to how to best look after it.

It thrives in lowish light conditions but does require some light so it is best kept within 5 – 10 feet of a window but never in direct sunlight. When placed in direct sunlight or in an area that is too bright the leaves may begin to go yellowish so at the first signs of this move to a darker area. It likes draft free conditions and ideally between 20 and 30 degrees celsius.

The main thing needed to keep your Peace Plant happy is plenty of water but the soil should be allowed to dry out in between waterings. Keep an eye out for drooping leaves – when you see this it is the signal to water the plant and they should spring back. When watering has been left a little late some of the lower leaves may yellow. If this occurs simply remove with a sharp knife.

It grows relatively slowly and likes humidity so a light misting a couple of times a week will help it stay glossy leaved and healthy. One great aspect of this plant is it’s ability to clean the air of pollutants – it can eliminate common household pollutants such as Benzene (found in petrol, inks, oils, paints and detergents) and Formaldehyde found in paper, insulation and cleaning products.

Peace Plant