I’ve kept peace lilies for years, and I’ve been through periods where the flowers were much smaller and scarcer than usual.
This is disheartening, but in this guide, I’ll share the best tips I’ve learned through the years to make sure the flowers return bigger than ever. These include letting the roots become slightly bound (but not too much!) and ensuring you provide enough light and use the correct soil type.
Keep reading if you want your peace lily to produce large flowers like mine.
Contents
8 Reasons Why Your Peace Lily Flowers Are Small
Let’s first address why your peace lily flowers are small in the first place, as this will give you a good idea of where you might be going wrong.
1. Insufficient Light
Your peace lily may not receive enough light, resulting in smaller flowers. This happens because sunlight is needed for growth, so without enough sunlight, the overall growth rate will decline, meaning smaller flowers.
These plants thrive in bright, indirect light for at least 6 hours per day and, ideally, more.
2. Improper Watering
Watering too much or too little can make your peace lily produce smaller flowers.
Underwatering
Peace lilies prefer moist soil.
If the soil drains too quickly (think inorganic cactus soil), or if you aren’t watering your peace lily often enough, the soil can quickly become underwatered.
If the soil lacks water, the roots cannot transport vital nutrients and moisture to the leaves, which means smaller flowers along with several other symptoms.
Overwatering
Overrwatered soil can also be a big issue. This can happen due to soil that doesn’t drain quickly enough, if you water too often, or if the pot lacks drainage holes.
If the soil is overwatered, the leaves and flowers will be affected. Leaves will turn yellow and droop, and any existing flowers will die.
This can also quickly lead to root rot, killing the entire plant. Don’t expect new flowers to grow properly if your peace lily has been overwatered.
3. Nutrient Deficiency
A lack of essential nutrients can hinder your peace lily’s growth and affect its flowering.
Phosphorus, found in complete fertilizers, supports blooming, amongst other things. If your peace lily lacks nutrients like phosphorus, it will produce smaller flowers.
A lack of nutrients can result from using soil containing little organic matter, a lack of fertilizing, or both.
4. Overfeeding Nitrogen
Nutrients are very important, but providing too much nitrogen will lead to fewer and smaller flowers on your peace lily.
Nitrogen is one of the three primary nutrients found in complete fertilizers, alongside phosphorus and potassium. It is important for leaf growth and development but can cause problems if you use too much of it.
Some fertilizers contain more nitrogen, and feeding your peace lily too much will favor leaf growth over flowers.
This can result in a peace lily with lots of glossy green leaves but very few flowers and those that grow tend to be smaller.
5. Repotting & Transplant Shock
Peace lilies are susceptible to transplant shock, so if you have recently repotted your lily, don’t be surprised if the new flowers are smaller.
6. Overpotting
Overpotting is a lot more common than you would think.
Peace lilies are pretty unusual in that they like to be slightly root bound, which is where the roots start to wrap around each other due to limited space.
Planting your peace lily in a pot much larger than the roots can lead to overwatered soil in the space where there aren’t any roots. This can lead to root rot, affecting overall growth and the size of new flowers.
7. Temperature
Peace lilies prefer warm temperatures ranging from 60 to 80°F.
If your plant is exposed to temperatures outside this range, it may struggle to produce large flowers.
8. Age
The last factor to consider is how old your peace lily actually is.
When I got my first peace lily many years ago, I assumed it would start blooming right away. I quickly realized it takes a few years for them to mature, and older peace lilies bloom much more often than younger ones.
This isn’t something you can change right away, but it should at least manage your expectations.
How To Encourage Your Peace Lily Flowers To Bloom Bigger
Here are some quick tips you can implement to get your peace lily to produce bigger and more impressive flowers.
Let The Roots Become Slightly Bound
Allowing your peace lily’s roots to become slightly bound can help encourage bigger blooms.
When the plant is slightly root-bound, it will concentrate more energy on producing flowers rather than growing new roots.
All you have to do for this is wait and make sure you haven’t overpotted your plant. If the roots start to block up the drainage holes or come out of the soil’s surface, then the roots are too tightly bound.
You can find full details of this in our guide.
Fertilize Regularly
Feeding your peace lily with a well-balanced, water-soluble house plant food encourages bigger blooms.
Regular fertilization ensures sufficient nutrients are available for your plant to produce flowers; make sure you use a balanced fertilizer, so you aren’t prioritizing nitrogen specifically.
I like to fertilize once per month during the growing season.
Use Gibberellic Acid
If you want to be experimental, you can try using gibberellic acid.
This is a naturally occurring plant hormone that is sprayed on the surface of peace lilies to induce blooming 70 to 110 days later.
You can read more about this here.
Meet The Other Care Requirements
To encourage your peace lily to produce bigger blooms, be sure to meet its other care requirements. These include:
- Light: Provide bright, indirect sunlight to stimulate growth and maintain plant health. Avoid direct sunlight to prevent damage to the leaves.
- Water: Keep the soil consistently moist but not waterlogged. Soggy soil can lead to root rot and prevent healthy growth.
- Temperature: Maintain a temperature of 60-80°F.
- Humidity: Peace lilies thrive in humidity levels above 50%. Use a tray filled with pebbles and water or a humidifier to maintain adequate humidity around the plant.
In Summary
And that’s a wrap!
Hopefully, you’ve got a better idea of how to encourage larger blooms on your peace lily now. The best advice is to wait for your plant to mature and make sure it is slightly root bound.
From there, it’s all about meeting the other care requirements and fertilizing correctly.
Want to learn more about peace lilies? Check out some of our other articles below:
