You cannot propagate peace lilies through cuttings, but you can reproduce them through division. In fact, peace lilies can be propagated in this way at any time during the season.
This article will teach you how to propagate peace lilies step by step. To learn exactly how to multiply your peace lilies, keep reading.
How To Propagate Your Peace Lily
Peace lilies can only be propagated through seeds or division. However, propagating peace lilies with seeds takes years to come to fruition, and it takes an experienced gardener to do it correctly. For this reason, I recommend the division method. It is faster and easier to perform.
Here is how to propagate your peace lily:
- Prepare Your Pot: To begin, you will need to prepare the pot for the new plant. The pot should be a maximum of 6 inches (15 cm) across. Fill the pot with new potting soil. Set the prepared pot to the side until step 4.
- Remove The Mother Plant: Now, go to the mother plant. You will need to remove it from its pot, but you must do so carefully. Begin by loosening the soil around the roots. It’s important to be patient during this phase so as not to damage the roots. Take enough time that you remove the roots without damaging them at all.
- Divide The Roots: After the mother plant has been completely removed from the soil, use your fingers to pull the roots apart. You are doing this to find clumps that have several leaves. If you find a good clump, hold them in your hand and prepare to divide them. While using a sharp blade, cut the roots to separate the leafy clump from the mother plant. You might want to cut several clumps if the mother plant allows it, but leave roots that don’t have a lot of leaves yet.
- Plant The New Peace Lily: Finally, it’s time to plant the new peace lily. Do this by placing the divided clumps into the pot you prepared in step 1. If you cut multiple clumps, you might need to prepare more pots to match. After you finish planting the new peace lilies, repot the mother plant in its original pot.
- Care For The New Plant: The job is not done yet. You must now care for the new peace lily so that it continues growing. Place the new pot in a warm space with a lot of indirect sunlight. Keep the soil moist but not excessively damp while it is growing.
When Should You Split Your Peace Lily?
Technically, peace lilies can be split any time of year. But, most importantly, the mother plant must be mature enough to handle being cut at the root. If you cut the plant too early, the clumps might not be large enough to grow properly, or you might kill the mother plant.
Here are signs that your mother plant is ready to be split:
- The mother plant has multiple crowns.
- The mother plant has stopped producing as many flowers as before.
- The mother plant has stopped flowering altogether.
- The soil dries up quickly after watering.
- The roots start growing through the bottom of the pot.
Once your mother plant shows any of these signs, it is likely ready to be divided for propagation. If the growing season is just around the corner, the mother plant may even be ready for repotting after you have cut the roots for the propagated plant.
Can You Propagate Peace Lilies From Leaf Or Stem Cuttings?
Unfortunately, you cannot propagate peace lilies from leaf or stem cuttings. Instead, you must divide the mother plant as described above. You can also try to propagate peace lilies from seeds, but doing so will leave you with an extremely long wait, and it isn’t easy to perform successfully.
What To Avoid When Propagating Your Peace Lily
Peace lilies are relatively easy to grow, but there are some things to avoid to ensure that the plant grows properly after being split.
Please don’t keep them in direct sunlight or total darkness. Exposing the plant to too much or too little light puts it at risk of disease. Instead, they need indirect sunlight. Recently propagated peace lilies need more sunlight than mother plants, but all lilies need sun, even if they are fully grown.
Final Words
Propagating peace lilies is not too difficult. The trick is picking the mother plant at the right time and being patient during the cutting process. If you are not patient, you will easily damage both the mother plant and the propagated ones.
If you are lucky, you might be able to get a mother plant with several clumps, allowing you to propagate many new peace lilies, not just one or two!