How to Take Care of your Peace Lily

The peace lily won the title of desk plant of the year.

This particular plant was listed by NASA as one of the seven to help reduce toxins and pollutants from the air. It was nominated the desk plant of the year in 2007 with the most important aspect being its ability to purify the air removing such odors as cigarette smoke, gasoline, and printer fumes while improving oxygen and humidity.

There are at least 40 varieties.

The peace lily, or spathiphyllum (spath-ee-FILE-um) cleans indoor air of many other environmental contaminants and pollutants, including formaldehyde, and benzene. There are several varieties including at least 40 different species. The flowers are produced in a spadix surrounded by a 10-30 cm long white, yellowish or green colored spathe.  The leaves are 12-65 cm long and 3-25 cm broad. One inch equals 2.54 centimeters.

Tips for keeping your peace lily healthy:

Keep it out direct sunlight. It prefers filtered light. Keep it warm. The average home temperature is fine. Give it a good drink at least twice a week until the water runs out of the drainage holes. Dump the water after. Depending on your home temperature, you may need to water it more frequently. Feel the soil. If you touch the soil and it is not moist, or the leaves have begun to droop, mist or water.  Watch the leaves perk up. Repot yearly, moving it to a pot just slightly larger. Divide the plant at this time, if you like. This is one of the few plants that generally do not require fertilizer.

Warnings: The peace lily is not actually from the Liliaceae family but is an evergreen herbaceous perennial plants native to tropical areas of the Americas and southeastern Asia. A true lily (including onions and garlic) is much more toxic to cats and dogs. This plant contains calcium oxalate crystals which can cause skin irritation when consumed and a burning sensation in the mouth along with difficulty swallowing and nausea. Once ingested, the patient should be taken to the nearest hospital or poison control center.

References:

http://beyondjane.com/shopping/home-and-garden/purify-indoor-air-with-houseplants/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spathiphyllum

The Houseplant Encyclopedia by Maggie Stuckey

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/One_inch_equals_how_many_centimeters

http://www.peacelily.net/

http://www.peacelily.net/peace_lily_care.html

Comments (4)

goodselfme said:

	... Thank you for the most interesting info about the care of the Peace Lily.
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April 03, 2011
Votes: +2

BC Doan said:

	... Great information, Judy! I love peace lily, but I always seems to do something wrong with plants..
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April 04, 2011
Votes: +1

HardworkinJudy said:

	... Roberta and BC, thanks for your support. I went out hunting for a peace lily today for my desk! BC, thanks for your article, which created my initial interest in plants as purifiers!
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April 04, 2011
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donata said:

	... As lover of flowers and plants I find your article useful and very informative. I learned something new today. very well done! Thanks 5*****
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April 05, 2011
Votes: +0