Plant size matters to many people, and when it comes to a big plant, you need to know whether you have sufficient space to grow it. So many plants start off misleadingly small when you first purchase them from a nursery and then get monstrous and unmanageable at home. So, how big do peace lilies get?
A peace lily will usually reach between four and six feet, but few that are grown indoors will exceed four feet tall. There are a few different varieties of peace lilies, and the smallest (Spathiphyllum Petite) only reaches about ten inches tall, while the largest (Spathiphyllum Sensation) will grow up to six feet in the right conditions.
How Big Will My Peace Lily Get?
When you purchase a peace lily, it’s important to check the variety you are buying. Is it a big one? Is it the mini type? This will help you gauge how large it is likely to grow since there is a lot of variation in the different kinds of plants.
Many places sell smaller peace lilies, but if you buy one of the large ones, you will need to dedicate quite a bit of space to it. A four-foot plant is not small when placed in a home!
This is good in a way because it means that the plant looks much more impressive, and draws in the eye. Since peace lilies are known for their beauty, this is important.
However, if you are short on space or you already have a lot of plants, it is crucial to be aware of just how large the peace lily can get if it is grown in the optimal conditions.
Remember, a peace lily grows to approximately the same width as height, so it will spread as well as shoot upward. This creates a lovely, balanced aesthetic, but requires more space.
Here are a few different kinds of peace lilies, ranked in size order from largest to smallest:
- Spathiphyllum Sensation: four to six feet tall, with leaves that are twenty inches long at most.
- Spathiphyllum Mauna Loa Supreme: three to four feet tall, with leaves that are nine inches long and five inches wide at most.
- Spathiphyllum Domino: about thirty inches tall, with beautiful variegated leaves.
- Spathiphyllum Wallisi: about twelve to fifteen inches tall.
- Spathiphyllum Petite: about eight to ten inches tall.
As you can see, you can get a peace lily to fit any room of your house, and there are plenty of other varieties to choose from too!
How Fast Do Peace Lilies Grow?
You may be wondering how quickly the tiny plant you have bought will reach its full size. It takes most peace lilies about three to five years to mature fully, so you have a little while, but this may seem surprisingly quick.
Peace lilies grow very slowly from seed, and they are not the fastest-growing plants out there, but they aren’t slow either. You will probably need to repot your peace lily around once per year, usually in the spring.
This will ensure that it has enough room to keep increasing its root ball and getting larger. If you do not repot your peace lily, it will end up rootbound, and it may stop growing and get sick.
Rootbound plants tend to be hard to water effectively because the roots take up so much of the pot, there is little room for the growing medium that is needed to absorb the water. It will flow straight out of the bottom of the pot, leaving the plant thirsty even when it has just been watered.
If you can’t report your peace lily in the spring, choose another time of year to do it, rather than leaving it in a pot that is too small. This will make it sick and unhappy. Additionally, if the soil is not changed at least once every two years, the plant will run out of nutrients.
What Growing Conditions Do Peace Lilies Need?
Of course, your plant cannot reach its full size if its growing conditions are not right, so take the time to ensure your peace lily is comfortable and happy, with all its needs met. This will result in a faster-growing and healthier plant.
What conditions does a peace lily need? These are generally quite hardy plants and many people grow them for that reason, but that doesn’t mean your peace lily does not have ideal conditions that will help it to grow more quickly.
- Steady, warm temperatures: these are tropical plants and they do not appreciate the cold.
- Some light: peace lilies are known for their ability to handle the dark, but they still need some light, and they will grow faster and flower when they have enough.
- Slightly moist soil most of the time: your peace lily does not like to be dried out.
- Fertilizing once every month or two months with a balanced feed.
- Humidity: mist your peace lily every day or so to keep humidity levels high enough to satisfy this rainforest plant. Do let its leaves dry out a little between mistings to reduce the risk of fungal infections.
- Freedom from pests: check your peace lily for unwelcome visitors every few days and use soap and water to remove any that you find.
Can I Grow My Peace Lily Outside?
Since peace lilies get larger when grown outdoors (with more ambient light), you might be wondering whether you can grow your peace lily outside the house to let it reach its maximum potential.
The answer depends on where you live. Peace lilies are not cold-hardy at all. They will grow outdoors in USDA zones 11-12, but any colder than this and they will simply die when winter comes.
You can grow your peace lily in a container and bring it in for the winter, but it probably will not reach its maximum size and a container that large will be very difficult to handle.
What Do I Do If My Peace Lily Gets Too Big?
If you are going in the opposite direction and you want your peace lily to be smaller, the best thing to do is to prune it and divide it up. The great thing about peace lilies is that you can split off parts of the plant and separate them into new plants.
This will give you a whole new peace lily to gift to a friend or sell, and it will leave you with a smaller plant to deal with yourself. It’s perfect if you have limited space for plants but a large peace lily. So, how do you do it?
Firstly, slip your peace lily out of its container and onto a hard surface. You may have to wriggle the plant and flex the pot to get it out.
Once it is out, inspect the foliage and the roots. You need to separate chunks of both; the roots will want some foliage to help them photosynthesize when they have been split off from the main plant. You can separate off as much or as little as you like, as long as you have both roots and foliage on every division that you make.
Do not take only roots or only foliage; this will not work well and the separated part is very unlikely to survive.
Once you have selected an area to separate from the main plant, it’s time to split it. If your plant’s root ball is very large or compacted, you may need to use a serrated knife in order to do this. Work slowly so that you don’t snap parts of the plant.
Put the knife against the bottom of the root ball and saw your way up through it, separating the chunk that you want to remove. If the root ball is small or not compacted, you can probably just break the piece off with your hands.
You can separate your peace lily as many times as you want like this. As long as roots and foliage remain on each piece, they should soon resume growth, and this leaves you with plenty of little plants you can give away. Peace lilies are beautiful and in high demand, and separation is the best way to obtain new plants.
You can then repot the part of the peace lily that you wish to keep, and you will have a smaller, more manageable plant.
How Do You Prune A Peace Lily?
Another way to keep the size down is to prune excessive foliage. You can simply sterilize some pruning shears and remove leaves from the base, cutting at a 45-degree angle. This can help to keep your peace lily smaller.
Conclusion
Peace lilies grow surprisingly large, and if you have bought one of the big varieties, you can expect to see up to four feet of growth if you give it the perfect growing conditions. If that sounds too big for you, consider one of the smaller varieties, or divide your plant up to keep it small.
