How Long Do Peace Lilies Last?

Peace lilies are considered perennials meaning they have the potential to live for more than two years. In most cases, a peace lily plant will live on average from three to five years as long as they are under good care. This, however, is assuming the peace lily is grown in healthy soil. Those that are grown in water may have a much shorter lifespan of one to two years.

How to extend the lifespan of a peace lily

The three to five years lifespan is an average. Some people have been able to maintain their peace lilies for a decade! It all comes down to how well you take care of the plant. Here are some tips to extend the lifespan of your peace lily plant.

Importance of watering

When taking care of peace lilies, watering is one of the most important things to get right. You must not underwater or overwater the plant. It’s quite simple. You just need to water the soil as soon as it looks dry. How frequent would depend on the time of year. During the summer, you may need to water once every few days. During the winter, it may be watering once every week! The state of the peace lily leaves will clearly tell you whether you are getting the watering frequency right.

Importance of indirect sunlight

Peace lilies will last a lot longer if you reduce the amount of external stress it faces. This is important in the context of sunlight. Make sure the peace lily is in a place where it gets plenty of indirect (not direct) sunlight. Exposure to direct sunlight, especially for an extended period of time, will cause more harm than good.

Importance of Repotting

Some peace lily plants will benefit from being repotted, especially when the existing container becomes too small for their root system. You don’t want a root ball to develop with every space in the plant container occupied by the peace lily roots. The new container should be a couple of inches bigger than its predecessor.

Importance of the Soil

The soil should be fertilized every once in a while so that the peace lily plant continues to get the essential nutrients it requires to grow and thrive. Most water-soluble houseplant fertilizers should work fine for peace lily plants. In addition to maintaining good nutrient levels, make sure the soil continues to drain well. Root rot is a major killer for houseplants and tend to develop when the soil gets a bit too clogged.

By accounting for the above factors, you should be able to easily grow peace lilies for many years. Those that seem to be nearing the end of their lifespan can be propagated and become brand new plants again!