Peace Lily Watering Tips – How Often & How Much Water

Lots of people who are new to gardening make the mistake of watering household plants, like peace lilies, based on a specific cadence as opposed to observing and watering when needed. Here are some tips to follow if you are unsure of how often you should be watering peace lilies.

Watering When Soil is Dry

The general rule of thumb is to water peace lilies when the top layer of the potted looks and feel dry. If you are to make a mistake with watering peace lilies, it’s preferred that you water less than to water more. Peace lilies are native to environments that are quite wet in nature, such as tropical rainforests, so they do prefer humid environments. That said, giving the peace lily too much water at once may do more harm especially if the water doesn’t drain out quickly from the container.

Drenching the Soil

When you water the peace lily, you want to pour or spray enough water for the soil to get drenched. However, it shouldn’t be so much so that you start seeing small pools of water forming along the top of the soil surface. Cactus soil is recommended for peace lilies as it allows you to water the peace lily container without worrying about any clogging taking place.

If you’ve been using the same soil for a while and water doesn’t drain off well then it’s likely that a repotting is needed. Otherwise, your plant will gradually suffer and start to develop problems such as root rot.

Be Careful with Tap Water

You may want to use distilled water instead of tap if the tap water in your area is super hard. The concentration of calcium carbonate in hard tap water may build up in the soil over time and reduce the plant’s ability to absorb necessary nutrients, water, and oxygen.

Misting is Appreciated

In addition to watering the soil, peace lilies may also appreciate the occasional misting given their tropical background. This is especially important for those who live in areas with a dry climate. Misting the foliage once or twice a week could help maintain the humidity surrounding the peace lily plant.

With the above tips, you should be able to eventually get a feel for how often to water peace lilies. Depending on where you live, some people may answer once a few days while others may find it enough to water peace lilies once a week. You will know if your peace lily is not getting enough water once the leaves start to turn yellow or brown tips start to form along the foliage edges.