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Verdejar

Peace lily care: watering and light

The peace lily is the most dramatic plant in the house: when it’s thirsty, every leaf collapses; an hour after watering, it’s standing tall again. The white flowers are actually modified leaves.

Peace lily needs water roughly every 3 days in summer and every 7 in winter (north-facing window, in a 16 cm plastic pot with a drainage hole). Before watering, always check with a finger in the soil: if it’s still damp, wait.

At a glance

Scientific name
Spathiphyllum wallisii
Preferred light
Low indirect light
Difficulty
Moderate
Tolerates drought
No
Tolerates shade
No
Where it lives
Indoors

Where to put it

It does well in medium indirect light, at a north-facing window or a little back from a brighter one. It copes with shade, but needs more light to flower. Direct sun scorches the leaves.

It likes humidity: a bathroom with a window, or the company of other plants, helps.

How to water

It likes slightly moist soil that never gets soggy. Water when the top few centimetres have dried. The dramatic droop is a useful warning, but don’t let it happen too often: each collapse leaves yellow leaves behind.

Common mistakes

Brown tips usually come from dry air or very hard water — filtered water, or water left to stand overnight, helps. Yellow leaves with soil that’s always wet mean overwatering. No flowers? It’s nearly always too little light.

How many days between waterings, spot by spot

Where it livesIn JulyIn January
South- or west-facing window2 days4 days
East-facing window2 days4 days
North-facing window3 days7 days
Hallway or corner with no window5 days10 days
Days between waterings, in a 16 cm plastic pot with a drainage hole. Worked out by Verdejar’s engine, northern hemisphere.

From the Journal