Peace lilies are hardy houseplants and can be grown in a number of ways. You may even wonder, can a peace lily grow well in water?
The short answer is yes, peace lilies can live in water. You can transfer a peace lily you already have from soil to water, or you can simply buy one that’s already in water. Either way, it can be a great place to grow your peace lily, and lots of people have success and keep their plants happy by immersing their roots in water.
The rest of this article will teach you how to grow peace lilies in water and help you decide if it’s something that you want to do.
How Do You Get Started?
Growing a peace lily in water is pretty simple. You can get started in one of two ways, buy a peace lily that’s already in water, or you can transfer a plant from soil to water.
If you buy a plant that’s already in water, well, then you are all set, and you can skip to the next section on how to keep it healthy.
If you want to transfer a peace lily from soil to water, there are a few additional steps:
- Pick a jar that looks like it will fit well with the plant. Preferably this would be a jar with a narrower mouth so that the peace lily have somewhere to rest.
- Fill your designated jar with distilled or filtered water.
- Gently take your peace lily out of its pot.
- Remove the soil from the roots as carefully as possible with your hands. You can also pour distilled or filtered water over the roots to get off stubborn soil. If you find any injured or unhealthy roots, cut them off.
- Place your peace lily in the jar. The roots should be completely submerged, but the rest of the plant should be above water. If you have trouble keeping the plant in place, you can use decorative stones and/or a plastic stopper.
You now have a peace lily living in water. But what do you have to do to keep it healthy?
Tips On How To Keep Your Peace Lily Healthy In Water
Once you have a peace lily living in water, you want to keep it healthy and beautiful. Here is the lowdown on how to accomplish this.
- Avoid using tap water. Tap water can carry chlorine and other minerals that may hurt your plant or cause disease, and we don’t want that to happen. Instead, using filtered or distilled water is recommended.
- Avoid too much direct sunlight. Keep your peace lily where it will get plenty of indirect sunlight, but not too much direct sunligt. Direct sunlight tends to scorch the leaves!
- Add fertilizer ocassionaly. A good rule of thumb is to feed your plant a few drops of liquid fertilizer every other week.
- Change the water ocassionaly. If the water starts to get murky, it is time to change the water. You can expect this to happen after about a month.
What Are The Benefits Of Growing A Peace Lily In Water?
First off, growing a peace lily in water makes it easier to repot the plant. When the roots are getting too big, all you have to do is transfer the plant to a bigger jar. This is a lot easier than taking it out of its soil, pouring new soil into a new pot, and going through all of the repotting struggles. You will also save money on soil this way!
No soil also reduces the chance that your plant will get infected with pests. If you have ever suffered from these, you know how annoying they are and how much effort – if you even succeed – it takes to get rid of them.
Lastly, let’s mention the decorative aspects. A lot of people like the look of it. It looks cool! Maybe you have even seen pictures of people keeping their peace lily in water with a small fish. While it is easy to understand the appeal, if you do this, please do it in a proper fish tank to give the fish a suitable living space.
What Are The Downsides Of Keeping A Peace Lily In Water?
Although there is less chance of pest-caused bacteria, growing a peace lily in water can lead to other bacteria and algae growing around the roots. This can cause the plant to suffer, as it won’t be able to take in all of the nutrients that it needs.
Some people also claim that peace lilies living in water will grow slower and die younger than peace lilies growing in soil. However, proponents of growing the plant in water dispute this, so it is still up for debate.
Final Words
Growing peace lilies in water is both possible and easy to do. It has its benefits and downsides, and you should familiarize yourself with them before you decide it if is something you want to try out.