Have you ever wondered how to prune a peace lily? These plants are immensely popular and are grown in homes all over the place, but it’s important to know how to care for one properly if you are going to have a healthy and beautiful specimen in your home. So, how do you keep your peace lily growing perfectly?
Usually, you will only be removing leaves that are dying or flower stalks that are over. You should not need to prune your peace lily when its foliage is healthy and green, so keep an eye out for any unsightly stems; these can be snipped off to keep the plant looking pretty.
How To Prune A Peace Lily – Step By Step
- Step One: The first thing that you should do is assess the plant and look at what needs pruning. Leaves that have gone yellow or brown, or foliage that looks particularly old, unhealthy, or pale can be removed. Flower stalks with blossoms that have finished can also be cut off.
- Step Two: Sterilize your pruning shears or a sharp pair of scissors. This reduces the risk of disease getting spread through the plant and it’s an important step to follow. Because you will be damaging the plant’s stems, you want to make sure the cut is clean and does not introduce bacteria or mold spores. You can sterilize your shears with boiling water or with alcohol.
- Step Three: Take a dead stalk or leaf, and then carefully run your fingers down to the very base. You want to cut the stalk as low down as possible.
- Step Four: Repeat this with all the dead leaves or flowers on the plant, removing everything unhealthy. This will help the plant to focus its energies on new growth, encouraging lots of healthy foliage and flowers.
- Step Five: Discard all the dead foliage. It’s best to put it in your compost bin if you can, allowing it to go turn back into a useful material to feed to your plants later.
Does Deadheading Encourage A Peace Lily To Produce More Flowers?
It is crucial to cut peace lily flower stalks off at the base, not up near the flower head. With many household plants, deadheading by only removing the flower encourages more blooms, but this does not work with peace lilies.
If you want to encourage your peace lily to produce more blooms, you should cut the stalks to the base, as described above, rather than just beneath the flower head. Most of these stalks will only produce a single flower, so there is no point in leaving them intact. Instead, take them off, and you may encourage more flowering.
When Should You Prune A Peace Lily?
You will probably do most of your pruning once your peace lily has started to flower, although you can prune it at any time. There is no particular time of year that is better for pruning, so if you notice dead leaves are ruining the aesthetic of your plant, sterilize some shears and snip away the dead growth.
New growth will soon sprout to replace it, and dead leaves serve no purpose for the plant.
Do You Need To Cut Back Your Peace Lily?
In general, a peace lily only needs pruning to remove old foliage. This will encourage new growth, but you don’t need to cut the whole plant back at any time, and doing so could be harmful to it.
You just need to identify any growth that has lost its healthiness and remove this so that the plant can focus its energy and nutrients elsewhere.
Do Peace Lilies Benefit From Being Pruned?
Yes, peace lilies are generally healthier if they are pruned from time to time. This is because old leaves and damaged stems can invite pests and diseases. After all, they leave the plant with weak spots.
For example, you might find mealy bugs feasting on a broken stem, and once established, they will move on to other parts of your plant. Equally, damaged leaves can make the peace lily vulnerable to fungal infections and other issues.
It is a good idea to prune off any damaged or sick foliage, ensuring that the plant stays healthy. Since this is so quick and easy, you should try and do it fairly frequently.
Final Words
Pruning a peace lily should be a quick process. Simply immerse some scissors or pruning shears in boiling water for a while, and then snip stems off right at the base. Compost spent foliage and flowers, and leave your peace lily looking beautiful and brimming with life.
