You should prune your peace lily to promote healthy growth and to keep them looking beautiful. Prune dead or dying stalks, leaves, and flowers to maintain health. Pruning is also prudent when the plant has overgrown its allotted space.
This article will cover what signs indicate your peace lily needs pruning, the advantages and disadvantages of pruning your peace lily, and how to prune your peace lily.
Should I Prune My Peace Lily Right Now?
If your peace lily is taking up too much space or seems overgrown, it is time to cut it back to allow healthy, controlled growth of the plant. Also, if your peace lily has dead flowers, stalks, or leaves on it, those should be pruned to allow the plant to direct food and water resources to the healthy parts of the plant.
In the absence of these indicators, you do not need to prune your peace lily and should let it grow to avoid introducing disease, stunting its growth, or preventing it from flowering.
What Are The Signs You Should Prune Your Peace Lily?
One of the first signs your peace lily needs pruning is if it has grown too large for its own space. Another, more common, sign is about a month after your peace lily flowers as those blossoms begin to die. Then, you should prune the stem of the dead or dying flower to encourage more blossoms during the next flowering period.
Prune leaves and stalks that have begun to turn yellow or brown and are wilting or squishy to help keep the plant healthy. Usually, these signs indicate overwatering, but also be on the lookout for disease so that you can hastily remove infected parts of the plant before spreading to the rest of your peace lily.
What Are The Benefits Of Pruning Your Peace Lily?
Pruning your peace lily not only keeps the plant looking aesthetically pleasing, but pruning also helps keep your plant healthy. By cutting off dead and dying pieces of your peace lily, you are allowing resources such as food and water to go to the healthy living portions of the plant instead of being wasted on the dying parts.
Pruning your peace lily will also help prevent Dasheen Mosaic Virus and Leaf Blight. If your peace lily is presenting either of these diseases, pruning infected areas can help stop the spread of the disease not only to other parts of your peace lily but also to other houseplants within its vicinity.
Common pests of peace lilies such as peace lily bugs and aphids also become less of a hazard to your peace lily if you prune your plant. Keeping stalks short and flowers fresh will help prevent bugs from invading your peace lily and introducing diseases.
What Are The Downsides Of Pruning Your Peace Lily?
If done under the appropriate circumstances, pruning your peace lily should not have any adverse effects. However, there are certain conditions in which pruning your peace lily may not be healthy for it.
Be sure to prune toward the base of stalks and stems of flowers. Pruning too close to the dead and dying parts may not be enough to prevent more decay. Also, using kitchen scissors that are too blunt may do more harm than good if you can not get a clean cut when pruning.
Also, neglecting to disinfect your cutting implement may introduce disease or viruses that could harm your plant or even kill it.
How Do I Prune My Peace Lily?
Here is how to effectively and properly prune your peace lily:
- Identify the parts of the peace lily which need to be pruned. Look for brown or yellow, wilting leaves or stalks, dead flowers, or areas of overgrowth.
- Disinfect your pruning shears in order to avoid infection by disease and be sure your cutting implement is sharp enough to make a clean cut.
- Cut back any dead or damaged leaves at the stem.
- Cut off any dead or dying flowers from the base of the stem. These stems will not flower again so it is important not to just remove the blossom but the entire stem as well.
Final Words
Peace lilies are beautiful houseplants and can be easily kept healthy by pruning when appropriate. If leaves, flowers, or stalks are dead or dying, they should be pruned to keep the plant looking aesthetically pleasing, prevent pests and disease, and encourage growth to the healthy parts of the plant.
While there aren’t many downsides to pruning, it is essential to use clean, sharp instruments and prune at the right spots to avoid unnecessary damage to your plant.
