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Spathiphyllum is a wonderful group of tropical plants and are simply sensational indoors plants. Even better, spaths or peace lily, as they’re often called by horticulturists, are easy to care for and grow in the home. It has impressive foliage, relief to the touch, at the end of a thin long branch. Its white flowers, as impressive, come as the perfect distraction to the dark green foliage. Both characteristics made peace lily very popular to those who love green/foliage plants as well as to those who prefer flowering plants.

Spaths are growing in all kinds of interior spaces, from malls and atriums to offices, and of course, homes. Commonly known as peace lily, these beauties are wonderful choices for medium – and low-light areas.

There are all kinds of Spathiphyllum varieties to choose from, but they’ve basically all got fairly long, oblong leaves that come to a point, and they all feature simple white blooms. A visit to your favorite local garden center should give you lots of choices. Ask a staff member to help you select the best one that fits your indoor space and needs.

If you’re looking for something big, you would surely like Spathiphyllum “Sensation”, the largest peace lily available. It’s adored for its dark-green, ribbed foliage and large, long-lasting, white flowers. You can expect Sensation specimens to reach 6 feet, so make sure you give it some space. At the other end of the spectrum is ‘Petite’ peace lily. This wee beauty provides the perfect scale of small, dark-green leaves and perky, white flowers for a small accent table or vanity. And there are many varieties in between, so one is sure to meet your indoor needs!

If you buy peace lilies for their flowers, choose a plant that has at least one flower in full bloom so that you know exactly what you are buying. As it was mentioned before, there are numerous varieties that differ in both the size and the color-tone of the flowers.

As it was mentioned above peace lily is easy to care for and it is one of those great plants who adapt easily to different conditions. And it is true: Just place them in the right spot, and about all they’ll need on a regular year-round basis is water. You should water approximately once a week from fall till spring and 2-3 times a week during the summer months. Before you water, check the surface of the soil. The best way to tell when your peace lily needs a drink is to stick your finger down a few inches into the medium. If it feels slightly dry, then water. If it’s moist, wait, because these plants are very prone to root rot.

When you do water, add enough so the liquid drains out the bottom of the pot. Like most houseplants, spaths are dust magnets, so the foliage can use a little cleaning from time to time. If it is possible take the plant into the bathroom and give it shower, for larger plants just strew them without moving. And remember, never let your plants sit in water. A few minutes after watering, drain any saucers of excess liquid.

Peace lilies grow not higher but wider as they age. New leaves appear among and around the base of old leaves, coming straight out of the soil. This is also the criterion to consider when buying a new plant, as this is a sign of a healthy plant that will develop well.

It needs plenty of humidity in its environment but its soil should not be wet for too long and do not let the pot sit in water. To provide additional humidity place the pot on a pebble tray but make sure it does not stand in water. If the roots stay wet for even a short period, the tips of the leaves will go yellow. If however the plant stays wet for more than 5-6 weeks its roots will rot and the plant will die. Also, if you notice yellow leaves in the center of the plant, you probably overwater so cut down on the frequency. If on the other hand, the outside leaves turn yellow, your plant is probably getting too much light.

If the soil goes dry, the leaves will wilt and hang over the pot. This could happen in as little as 2-3 days, so make sure to water regularly before your plant goes completely dry. When watering a wilted spath, you should wait for 6-16 hours until the leaves recover. This is of course the lucky guess, in case you managed to prevent worst from happening. A general indication that the plant needs more water is brown tips on the leaves or the flowers so inspect your plant often.

As beautiful and easy to care for as these plants are, they do occasionally run into problems with pests or diseases. To avoid these problems altogether, try following a few cultural hints: Keep the foliage dry (which means no misting the leaves); try for consistent, good air circulation around the plant, think about placing it near open windows during the warmer months or near overhead fans, and only handle your spath when it’s dry. Finally, don’t forget to wash your hands before you touch other plants to avoid spreading any disease or insect.

Spaths grow well in low light situations. Ideally, it needs plenty of filtered light, never let the plant in the sun as its leaves will get sun-burned.

These plants do not require much in terms of fertilizing, but you can use some all purpose fertilizer to keep your plant in shape. Do that once in spring and once in the fall, when the weather cools down a little or you may even fertilize once a month from April to September as long as you use half of the dosage recommended on the label. Over fertilizing may cause serious or irreparable damage to the root system of these plants.

In general, spaths love it warm and cold drafts will obviously delay its growth. Low temperatures can damage both the leaves and the root system of the plant. To avoid that, do not place spaths next to heat producing equipment like radiators or TV sets which will additionally deprive the plant of much needed humidity.

Ideal temperatures for spaths are between 21-24oC during day and night and temperature fluctuations will harm the plant. If the temperature is too low, the leaves will fade. If this does not last long the leaves will soon recover, but if it does last the branches will start to rot. If you expect low temperatures, move the pot to a warmer location.

Its flowers are very similar to calla flowers. They are large, in various tones of white (from snow white to very pale green) and they appear on top of thin long branches in the same way as the leaves. In reality, they are not flowers but differentiated leaves that surround a stemon. These flowers bloom within the first warm months of the year, from early spring until the last warm days of fall and they last for a long time. When they start to die, cut them back as low to the soil as you can reach.

If your plant fails to produce flowers, cut down on watering and move it to a location where it gets more light. Plants who get adequate light, even artificial light, will produce more flowers. Another thing to consider is that spaths like to be a little root-bound in order to produce flowers.

You can repot in spring, preferably after they produce their first flowers but the new pot should be only one size bigger. Remember to add pebbles at the bottom of the pot to ensure excellent drainage. Since spaths grow wider, pots that are wide but not too deep are more suitable, e.g. dish-pots or any shallow container.

While repotting you can propagate your plant through division of the roots but this should only be done once every 2-3 years so that the root system is not overstressed and it will get enough time to recover. Make sure to place the plant at the same level of soil as in its original container. One of the best advantages spaths have is that they are very resistant to disease and insects. Another advantage of spaths is that they belong in the NASA list of clean air plants, since it removes dangerous chemicals from our atmosphere, such as formaldehyde, benzol, and carbon monoxide, which are unfortunately present to any house or office.

That said, place your peace lilies just about anywhere you’d like in your home such as living rooms, bathrooms and bedrooms, they’re a decorator’s dream. Small-leaved varieties make excellent choices for coffee tables, end tables or nightstands. Large-leaved selections make wonderful choices as floor specimens. A single plant, when placed by a sofa or chair in a lovely decorative container can add all kinds of interest to any space. If your pot is on any kind of porous surface, like wood, make sure you’ve got a liner or saucer under it to catch any dripping.

Spectacular spaths are a wonderful, easygoing addition to any décor – whether you’re a seasoned houseplant gardener or new to the whole houseplant thing. With just a little care and attention, they’ll reward you with beautiful year-round flowers and foliage just about anywhere you place them.

The peace lily is a tropical plant with an extraordinary power to purify the air, which makes it the ideal desk plant. Thus it was elected “desk plant of the year 2007”! The peace lily is the most popular plant to have on your desk while working. The peace lily was elected the No. 1 desk plant because of its ability to refresh the air. The peace lily apparently generates lots of oxygen. The peace lily is the ideal desk plant, a professional jury even said that the peace lily makes you happy when looking at it every now and then. The peace lily has dark green leaves that can be more than one foot long. The plant is full and uniform, and according to experts it changes sight constantly, which is the reason that it is an interesting plant to look at. The peace lily has white flowers, or spathes, surrounding a creamy white spadix. Four other contesters in the race towards becoming the desk plant of the year 2007 were the Chrysalidocarpus, Dracaena "Janet Craig", Chamaedorea and Rhapis. All of these plants were judged on different aspects that would make a good desk plant. The most important aspect, however, was the purifying power of each plant. The peace lily (spathiphyllum) appeared to be able to purify the air from dangerous matters such as formaldehyde and to raise the humidity in the office. The purifying power of the peace lily is confirmed by NASA, where it was proven that the peace lily even purifies the air from cigarette smoke, the smell of printers and smell of gasoline while at the same time adding more oxygen to the air.