Peace lilies are rainforest plants, and as such, they love the warmth and prefer to exist in a humid environment. Therefore, unless your home is damp or you keep your peace lily in the bathroom, it will benefit from being humidified occasionally.
Peace lilies like humidity to range between 50 and 60 percent, and if the air gets much drier than this, they may start to suffer. As a result, you might see their leaves drying and curling inward.
How Do I Know If My Peace Lily Has Enough Humidity?
As humans, we have little sense of the exact humidity. We can feel if the air is damp, and sometimes we are aware of oppressive humidity, but we don’t have a good measure of how much water is in the air in normal ranges.
We certainly can’t tell when the air is 50 percent humid. So, if you want to be precise, you will have to buy a hygrometer and position it near to your peace lily. This will let you know whether your peace lily is getting enough humidity. But it might be overdoing it!
Another approach would be to experiment and use common sense. For example, your bathroom and kitchen will likely be humid, while your bedroom will not be especially humid. If you suspect it is too humid or – more likely – not humid enough, try to remedy this and observe how your plant reacts.
Can The Air Be Too Humid For A Peace Lily?
You might be wondering whether you can just make the air very damp and leave it at that?
Unfortunately not, because peace lilies – like most plants – are susceptible to rot if they are kept in very wet conditions consistently. Their leaves may start to turn moldy, and fungus will grow in the soil. If you don’t dry the plant out from time to time, it could begin to suffer from rot and eventually die.
You can reduce the risk of high humidity by increasing the airflow around your plant, but it is best not to let it get too wet anyway. This could also be damaging to your home!
Can The Air Be Too Dry For A Peace Lily?
Yes, it certainly can!
Peace lilies need high humidity levels, or their leaves will start to turn brown and curl up. You might think you aren’t watering your peace lily enough, but make sure you also consider whether the surrounding environment is dry. If it is, it is a good idea to humidify your peace lily. But how do you do that?
How Should I Humidify My Peace Lily?
There are three main ways to humidify a plant easily. We’ll cover all three methods, but first, note that it’s an excellent idea to humidify plants early in the day. This gives the leaves a chance to dry out before the cooler nighttime temperatures set in when the fungus is more likely to grow. If possible, mist plants when you first get up.
Now, let’s look at how you can humidify your plants.
Method One: Buy a humidifier. This may be the lowest maintenance method, and it works well; you can buy a plug-in humidifier and position it near your peace lily. Then, flick it on when you want to increase the humidity and off when your plant is damp enough.
Method Two: Use a spray bottle. This is a more hands-on method because you will have to remember to mist your plant regularly and spend time doing so. However, this has some advantages.
Firstly, many people find this is very therapeutic and a calming way to start the day. Secondly, it encourages you to spend some time looking at and enjoying your plant – which is the point of keeping plants. Thirdly, it allows you to inspect its leaves for any signs of pests or diseases.
This can help you catch problems early, which should make your plant healthier overall.
Method Three: Make a humidifying tray. Perhaps the cheapest method. It is easier than it sounds! You just need a tray with no holes in it and a bag of marbles or stones. Tip the marbles into the tray, and then pour in some water, filling it only enough so that the water surface is below the top of the marbles.
Stand the plant pot on the marbles. The pot is not touching the water, so the plant will not get overwatered, but during the day, evaporation will slowly rise from the surface and gently mist the plant’s leaves. Remember to remove the plant again later!
Final Words
Peace lilies need humidity, or their lush green foliage will fade.
You can use a hygrometer to keep an eye on your peace lily’s environment and make sure it is suitable. Otherwise, use common sense and consider whether a more or less humid environment might benefit your plant.
Since indoor living environments tend not to be too humid, your plant will likely benefit from being humidified. One way to do this is to mist your plant in the mornings. This should keep your peace lily thriving!