Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum) are notorious for being a bit stubborn when it comes to blooming. They are often sold in full bloom, but getting them to flower again in your home requires a little bit of tough love and mimicking their natural environment.
Here are 11 ways to encourage your peace lily to produce those beautiful white spathes:
1. Provide Bright, Indirect Light
The number one reason a peace lily won’t bloom is lack of light. While they are sold as “low-light” plants, low light means they will survive, but not thrive or flower.
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The fix: Place your plant near a north or east-facing window where it receives bright, filtered light all day. Avoid direct, harsh afternoon sun, which will scorch the leaves.
2. Keep the Roots “Snug” (Pot-Bound)
Peace lilies love to be slightly root-bound. If you put them in a pot that is too large, the plant will spend all its energy growing roots and foliage instead of producing flowers.
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The fix: Only repot your peace lily when roots are literally growing out of the drainage holes or the soil dries out almost immediately after watering. When you do repot, only go up one pot size (e.g., from a 6-inch pot to an 8-inch pot).
3. Perfect Your Watering Schedule
Peace lilies are dramatic and will droop when they are thirsty. However, letting them droop too often stresses the plant and can prevent blooming. Conversely, soggy soil causes root rot.
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The fix: Water thoroughly when the top inch of soil feels dry. Let the water drain completely out of the bottom, and never let the pot sit in standing water. Use filtered or distilled water if your tap water is heavily treated, as peace lilies are sensitive to chemicals.
4. Increase Humidity
Peace lilies are tropical rainforest plants. In dry indoor air (especially in winter or with AC running), the plant may struggle to push out flowers.
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The fix: Place the pot on a pebble tray filled with water, group it near other plants, or run a small humidifier nearby. Occasional misting can help, but a pebble tray is more consistent.
5. Keep Them Warm (But Not Hot)
These plants like consistent, warm temperatures. They also do not like sudden drafts.
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The fix: Keep your peace lily in temperatures between 65°F and 80°F (18°C – 27°C). Keep it away from cold drafts, air conditioning vents, and heating radiators.
6. Use a Phosphorus-Boosted Fertilizer
If you feed your peace lily a fertilizer that is too high in nitrogen, you will get gorgeous, massive green leaves, but zero flowers. Nitrogen promotes foliage growth, while phosphorus promotes blooming.
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The fix: During the spring and summer (growing season), feed your plant every 4–6 weeks with a balanced, water-soluble houseplant fertilizer, or one specifically formulated for “blooming” plants (look for a higher middle number in the N-P-K ratio, like 10-30-20).
7. Supplement with Epsom Salts
Peace lilies can suffer from magnesium deficiency, which inhibits flowering. Epsom salts provide a gentle, natural dose of magnesium.
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The fix: Once a month during the growing season, dissolve 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts in 1 gallon of water. Use this solution to water your plant instead of plain water.
8. Try Gibberellic Acid (The Professional Secret)
Commercial growers don’t keep peace lilies in perfect greenhouses by accident; they often use a naturally occurring plant hormone called gibberellic acid to force the plants into bloom before they hit the store shelves.
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The fix: You can buy gibberellic acid spray online or at specialty garden centers. A single, light spray on the base of the plant or the young leaves is often enough to trigger blooms within a few weeks.
9. Provide a “Rest Period” in Winter
Like many tropical plants, peace lilies benefit from a period of slightly cooler temperatures and reduced watering to prepare for the spring growing season.
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The fix: During late fall and winter, move the plant to a slightly cooler room (around 60°F/15°C) if possible, stop fertilizing, and allow the soil to dry out a little more than usual between waterings. When spring arrives, move it back to a warm, bright spot and resume feeding.
10. Prune Spent Blooms and Old Leaves
Once a flower turns green and then brown, it is draining energy from the plant.
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The fix: Use clean, sharp scissors to snip spent flowers off at the base of the stem. Trim away any yellowing or brown outer leaves so the plant can redirect its energy into producing fresh growth and buds.
11. Expose it to Ethylene Gas (The Ripening Trick)
This is an old horticultural trick. Ethylene gas is a plant hormone that can trigger flowering in mature aroids.
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The fix: Take a ripe banana or a ripe apple and place it in a paper bag. Place the bag over the top of your peace lily (or place the fruit directly on the soil next to the plant) for a week. As the fruit ripens further and decays, it releases ethylene gas, which can stimulate the plant to produce a bloom. (Note: Remove the fruit if it gets moldy, and do not let the bag touch the leaves if it is wet.)
A final note: Peace lilies must be mature to bloom. If you have a very young plant grown from a tissue culture or a small division, it may simply be too young. Give it 12 to 18 months to mature, and with the care above, it should reward you with blooms!