You need to prune your peace lily when it presents dead or damaged flowers, leaves, or stalks or if the plants themselves have overgrown their living space. There is no designated time of year for pruning, but it is best to watch your plant for any signs that it needs pruning.
In this article, you will learn about what to look for when it comes to pruning your peace lily, the benefits and downsides of pruning your peace lily, and the steps you need to take to prune your peace lily correctly.
When Is The Best Time To Prune Your Peace Lily?
Peace lilies generally need pruning about a month after blossoms appear. At this time, the flowers will begin to wilt, and you should prune them at the plant’s stem. Other times that are good to prune include when the plant has grown too big for its space or when diseased or dead leaves are present.
Regularly checking your peace lily for indications of damaged or dead plant parts is a good idea and will help you prune your plant at the proper time to prevent any possible spread of disease.
What Are The Signs You Should Prune Your Peace Lily?
Yellow or brown leaves or leaves with black spots (water spots) usually indicate overwatering and should be removed from the plant immediately because these parts are easily vulnerable to leaf blight and other fungal infections. Wilting stalks are another sign and should be wholly pruned from the plant.
Wilted or brown flowers are a sign that those blossoms are dead and should be pruned from the plant at the stem to encourage flowering during the next productive cycle of your peace lily.
If your plant is heavily overgrown and invading the space of other plants or leaning over precariously under its weight, you should prune it back to a healthy size to encourage proper growth.
What Are The Benefits of Pruning Your Peace Lily?
Keeping your peace lily properly pruned will help it thrive. By pruning your peace lily, your will help prevent and eliminate disease and pests that can harm or even kill your peace lily.
Pruning the flowering stems from your peace lily once they have wilted and died will encourage your plant to flower again during its next productive cycle. Conversely, without proper flower pruning, your peace lily may fail to produce blossoms.
Being aware of the indicators to prune your peace lily will also help you recognize the signs of overwatering, which can prevent the infection of your plant by fungus and mold.
What Are The Downsides of Pruning Your Peace Lily?
While peace lilies do require pruning in certain circumstances, too much pruning or pruning when not warranted may stunt your peace lily’s growth or encourage the infection of diseases and pests to healthy parts of the plant.
Improper pruning using blunt cutting instruments or failing to sterilize pruning equipment can also lead to vulnerability to disease and infection. So be sure to follow proper pruning techniques to prevent your peace lily from suffering unnecessary damage or illness.
How Do I Prune My Peace Lily?
The proper approach to pruning your peace lily is outlined in the following steps:
- Find the parts of your peace lily that need to be pruned especially areas of overgrowth, yellow, brown or black spotted leaves, and wilted or dead flower heads.
- Sharpen and sterilize your cutting instruments to ensure clean cuts that are not laden with pests or disease.
- Cut off damaged or dead leaves first. Be sure to prune at the stem to avoid any additional spreading of potential damage or disease.
- Cut back flowering stems at the base of the stem. If just the flower heads are removed, there will be no blossoms from that stem during the next flowering period so be sure to take out the entire stem.
Final Words
Pruning your peace lily is an easy way to help ensure that it thrives and can live as long as possible. Therefore, it’s important to be able to identify when your peace lily needs to be pruned and know the proper method of pruning your peace lily.
When your peace lily displays dead or damaged flowers, leaves, or stalks, it is time to get out the pruning shears, disinfect them, and cut away the bad parts of the plant. Likewise, cutting back overgrowth will help prevent disease and promote health.
Give your peace lily the best life it can live and prune it correctly!