How To Propagate Peace Lily? (Best Method+Steps To Follow)

As a low-maintenance and shade-loving plant, the peace lily is a popular choice among beginner plant parents. The white flowers and dark green foliage significantly add to the aesthetics of your room. Propagation of your existing peace lily plant can save you from the expense of buying new peace lily plants.

If you have owned peace lilies for a while, you might be interested in finding out how to propagate them. It would allow you to quickly turn a mature peace lily plant into numerous other peace lilies.

You cannot propagate peace lily by stem cuttings. So, the most suitable propagation method for them is clump division. Another possible manner of propagation is growing with seeds. However, that’s an extremely lengthy process, so the clump division method is the most viable one.

If you follow all the steps carefully, propagating a peace lily will not be difficult. Continue reading this detailed guide to learn all the essential tips and tricks on peace lily propagation.

What is the best time to propagate Peace Lily?

According to the expert opinion, you can promptly propagate peace lilies during any season of the year. 

During fall and winter, the growth of houseplants decreases considerably or stops, and cuttings taken then can rot instead of producing new roots.

Even propagating during extreme heat can stress out the plant. Thus, it’s best to avoid propagating in those times.  

As spring comes upon us, it triggers the best time to propagate from mid-February till August-end.

We must also remember not to propagate if the peace lily appears to have wilting or discoloration in leaves or the plant looks saggy and miserable. 

Only when all other attempts to revive the plant fail should we continue with propagation. You will realize that it’s time to divide your peace lily when the plant produces fewer flowers, soils start to dry quickly, and roots begin growing at the bottom.

Now, lets us delve into how we can propagate the peace lily.

Supplies required:

• Sharp knife or pruning shears.
• Newspaper or tarp – This is needed to keep the area of the propagation process clean and free of soil and dirt.
• 3-4 inch pots.
• Good quality potting soil, like peat-based potting soil.
• Water – To keep the soil moist.
• A healthy Peace Lily plant with crowns

How to propagate Peace Lily by clump division?

peace lily | How to Propagate + Repotting + Care Guide

Pick an open and spacious spot for your Peace Lily plant, where you can propagate it without interruption. The division is ideal for propagating plants that grow bunches of foliage out of the ground, and it won’t work for a single trunk/stalk.

Determine if your peace lily can be divided

The most initial step for propagating peace lily is to inspect the plant’s crowns. Before checking for that, you must let your plant mature to its fullest potential. 

A mature Peace Lily plant tends to possess numerous baby clumps. The new buds emerging from the roots gradually develop into separate plants with their self-sufficient root systems. 

A young plant that has undergone only one growing season will lack those baby clusters. On identifying the mother plant, counting clumps and more than 6 is a green signal.

Move the plant

Next, you must uproot the mother plant from its present pot. You can do this by rolling the pot to the side on a flat surface and slowly pulling out the root ball. 

The flat surface can be a newspaper or mat, and the pulling action should remove the plant instantly. 

Hold the base of the foliage firmly to keep all of it together. Then, gently tap on the pot to set the stuck parts of the plant loose. Be careful of not damaging the peace lily in any way during the process of taking it out.

Clump Separation

This separating part is labeled as the most critical and technical one, as here patience, concentration, and care come is required. You will notice the web of heavily interlocked roots once the plant comes loose.

Now, alternate using a small raking tool and your finger to wipe off the extra soil until you feel the root systems. It may feel time-consuming, but you must keep going since this differentiates between successful and failed propagation. 

Just pulling apart the clumps absolutely would not work in this case and yield favorable results.

On discovering the single root connection between the mother and offshoots, you can cut the sections with the help of a sterilized sharp knife or pruning shears. If the plant is too small, you can use your hands to divide rather than a knife.

The crown should still have 3 or more leaves, with few roots attached for best propagation. 

Remember not to divide clumps that have an underdeveloped root system. The number of new Peace Lilies you can get depends on how many good clumps you manage to separate. 

Preparing and potting the clumps

While preparing the pot, keep in mind that you need one container for each rhizome division. Now, fill the pot with a few inches of high-quality, well-drained soil mixture. 

Then, accommodate the peace lily plants in the soil in an upright position. Add more soil to the sides of the pot, leaving a few inches empty at the top. Try to get your hands on four-inch pots or pots similar in size to the original pot but with drainage holes. 

Once you complete the division, you can plant offshoots of the peace lily in the soil. There has to be enough room for each plant to put out new roots. You should plant each rhizome division below the potting mixture’s surface. 

Watering

Based on how moist the potting mix is, you can decide on the plant’s watering after propagation. The new plants will have to be watered thoroughly if the soil is dry. 

We suggest that you water them in the bath or outdoors to prevent making a mess. There will be no need to water if the soil is adequately moist.

Post propagation care

After division, avoid fertilizing for two months as the roots will be more sensitive and vulnerable to chemical burns. Try to keep the freshly repotted plants in a warm place, above 77 °F. 

Do not place the peace lily in complete shade or direct sunlight. Partial sun is preferred, as direct sunlight can scorch your new plants.

The mother and the baby plants may suffer from transplant shock, leading to the drooping and falling of leaves. Do not be tempted to remedy this with extra water, resulting in rotting of the root system. Wait for the plant to return to its normal perky state in a few days. 

In three months, you will find the mother plant producing more shoots and growing new ones. The division method assures rapid growth in almost under 10 minutes. This is because the Peace Lily has already completed the germination process earlier.

How to propagate Peace Lily from seed?

On reproducing Peace Lilies from the seeds, the offshoots will rarely resemble their parents in spot structure and shade. 

Harvesting peace lily seeds

You can harvest the seeds if the plant’s flowers have been fertilized and had fruits in the past. That part turning green is an identification of the fertilized plant. 

Usually, the easily identifiable yellow seeds grow inside the white flowers of the peace lily plant. You can use a knife or blade to cut the spadix open for accessing the seeds.

Collecting the seeds is an easy but rather lengthy process. Now what you need to do is, pinch out the seeds with the help of tweezers or by hand.

After collection, wash them properly. Either dry the seeds and store them in an airtight container or kickstart the germination immediately.

Germinating the peace lily seeds

The germination procedure can be completed at any time of the year, as long as you have a germinating tray with you. To prevent any soil-borne pathogen disease, make sure to choose a germination mix that doesn’t contain soil.

Then, place the seeds over the mix and add a light layer of vermiculite or the same mix on top.

Cover the pot with glass or plastic and place the tray near a window or under artificial lights that would allow indirect light to pass. In an ideal scenario, the seeds will not need water due to the high humidity levels.

Peace lily seedlings may appear in ten days, but the germination period might stretch longer if the temperature is too low.

How to propagate peace lily in water?

Peace lilies are versatile and can be propagated in water as well. For propagating the plant in water, firstly, you have to collect peace lily pups. Then place them in a container with water. Only the roots need to be submerged in water and not the complete plant.

You can continue adding some water-soluble fertilizers and organic additives to increase the nutritional value of the water. The only downside is that the plants receive less vital nutrients than when planted in the soil.

Final words

Follow the methods of propagation mentioned in this article carefully, incorporating all the points. In no time, you can have several thriving peace lily plants to admire and adorn your living spaces or to gift to your loved ones.

It is vital to note that peace lilies are toxic to animals, so keep your pets away when you propagate these plants. Also, always use room temperature filtered water for watering them as they are susceptible to fluoride and other chemicals in tap water.

Place your peace lilies in a bright spot filled with indirect light to see optimum growth and fertilize it adequately whenever required. 

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Ref: ScienceDirect, NCBI, University of Vermont, Nationalgeographic, NC state university, University of Florida, The University of Arkansas, Queensland Government.