Peace Lily - Spathiphyllum - Removing Flowers

Once the big spring push ends the spathiphyllum flowers will eventually fade and the foliage will continue to work at cleaning the air inside. Many people don't know what to do or they wonder if the plant is dying as the bloom fades away. This is evidenced by the e-mail questions on the subject.

The flowers fading or dying off is natural.

Lets go over a few of the things that you may see so you'll know what to expect.

Spathiphylliums come in many varieties and sizes. This is also the case in the way some of the flowers die.

Some peace lily varieties can flower over a long period of time and may have flowers coming and going at the same time. Others may come into bloom with a flower or two and slowly wither away.

Generally you will notice that the flowers expire in a couple of ways.

After pushing up their pure white hoods above the foliage the flowers can be enjoyed for weeks and months.

When they have reached the end of their cycle they begin to die off. The white hoods may begin to discolor and get brown spots, much like you would notice with cut flowers. The flowers can also slowly begin to turn green in color.

You may also experience both of these conditions on the same plant. We usually find the flowers turning green when they have been pollinated and seed has been set.

You can extend the blooming time of your spathiphyllum by keeping water off of the blooms. Next time you want to mist your plant, take care keep the mist on the leaves and off the flowers.

Removing the Flower

Flowers take energy from the plant. When the bloom starts fading it's time to remove it, green or with brown spots. Youll notice that the flower stalk comes up right next to the leaf petiole. Dont just remove the flower and leave the flower stalk; remove the flower stalk as far down as possible without cutting the leaf off. Be sure to cut the stalk and do not try to rip or twist it out.  

Leaving the flowers on for an extended period of time can cause the new leaves to come out smaller. This is from the energy used in the flower production.

Spathiphyllums are excellent foliage plants even without flowers. Enjoy your plant while it is in bloom and then enjoy this tough indoor plant for its foliage. Peace Lillies grow well in self-watering pots. If they are not watered well they can go droopy.

Hey, if you want flowers all the time try some artificial ones in your real plants.