What Kind Of Fertilizer Does A Peace Lily Need? (Peace Lily Fertilizer Ratio)

Peace Lily or Spathiphyllum is a popular air-purifying houseplant that is great for beginners. Peace Lily can adjust to different lighting conditions, and with the right amount of water and fertilizer, you can have a healthy Peace Lily plant in no time. 

But what kind of fertilizer does a peace lily need? and how often should I fertilize them?

As a general rule, peace lily thrives when dosed with a good quality water-soluble balanced fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 20:20:20. Make sure to fertilize your peace lilies once a month during the growing season and dilute the fertilizer to half-strength to avoid overfertilization problems.

The correct ratio of macronutrients and micronutrients can determine the growth and health of the plant. So, it would help if you always fertilized your peace lily with the correct dose of a balanced fertilizer. 

Over-fertilization can be deadly as it can cause irreversible damage to the roots, and it will be difficult to revive the plant if the damage is severe. It can even kill your Peace Lily. 

On the other hand, lack of fertilization will make your Peace Lily weak as it won’t receive enough nutrients from the soil. 

Keep reading this article to understand everything regarding fertilizing your Peace Lily plant.

Does peace lily need fertilizer?

Although Peace Lily doesn’t demand too much fertilizer, you must give it some during its growing season.

If you are wondering why we have the answer. The potting mix cannot provide all the nutrients to the plant after some time. This happens because the soil loses nutrients every time you water it. Therefore, without the support of fertilizers, your peace lily will become weak and have slower growth.

Proper fertilization will help the Peace Lily to fight diseases and become stronger and healthier.

If you want a healthy and growing peace lily, you need to fertilize it adequately, significantly when it is actively growing. With the correct nutrients, your peace lily will show a lot of growth.

Lack of essential nutrients will lead to the following problems:

• Slow growth
• Weak stem
• Poor root development
• Discolored leaves
• Leggy growth

If you notice any of these on your Peace Lily, take a step back and evaluate the fertilization routine and make changes in it.

What nutrients to look for in fertilizers?

Before we understand which fertilizer would be best for the Peace Lily plant, let’s find out about the nutrients that make up a good fertilizer and how all those help the plants.

The nutrients present in the fertilizers can be divided into three categories.

Ingredients	Nutrients
Macronutrients	Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium
Micronutrients	Iron, Zinc, Copper–Boron, Chlorine, Manganese–Molybdenum, Nickel
Other nutrients	Calcium, Magnesium, and Sulphur

Macronutrients: Micronutrients are the primary nutrients that you need to look for in fertilizers. These are vital for the growth of plants. It supports the different processes such as respiration, cell development, protein synthesis, and the development of the immune system.

Micronutrients: Micronutrients are needed in small amounts but are no less important. These help the plant grow bigger and bushier.

Other nutrients: These are the secondary nutrients that help plants absorb nutrients, improve their metabolism, and strengthen the immune system.

What is the best fertilizer for peace lily?

There are tons of fertilizers available in the market, and choosing the right one for your peace lily can be a challenge but don’t worry, we are here to help.

The first and most crucial factor that you need to consider while getting the fertilizer is the NPK ratio of the peace lily. Choosing the correct ratio is essential for the growth of your peace lily.

You will see ratios such as 10:10:10 or 10:15:10 on the fertilizer bottles. NPK means Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and potassium that make up the macronutrients that we mentioned earlier.

Let’s break this down and find out how each of these can help your Peace Lily plant.

Nutrients	Functions
Nitrogen	Encourages new growth Protein synthesis Important for photosynthesis
Phosphorus	Cell division and growth Promotes root growth Vital for photosynthesis Required for flowering
Potassium	Boosts immunity Regulates water in the plant

A well-balanced fertilizer with an NPK ratio of 20:20:20 would be the best choice for your Peace Lily plant.

Here are my top picks:

• Jacks Classic 20-20-20 All Purpose Fertilizer
• Espoma Company Organic Indoor Plant Food
• Charlie’s Compost

Always go for a liquid fertilizer to control the amount and reduce the dose by diluting if required. Going for organic options will also work well for the plant.

Types of fertilizers

Fertilizers can be categorized into two main categories: organic fertilizers and inorganic fertilizers. Let’s take a look at some examples of both.

Inorganic fertilizers

These fertilizers are the ones that you can get from the markets. But these come in different varieties, such as:

• Granular fertilizer
• Slow-release fertilizer
• Liquid fertilizer

Granular fertilizer: Granular fertilizers come in pellets. You can add them to the soil and give them to your plants. But these fertilizers can be hard on the roots of the plants as they contain high levels of Nitrogen and potassium. This type of fertilizer can burn the roots and leaves.

Slow-release Fertilizer: These are covered fertilizers that take time to break down. They release some nutrients to the soil every time you water the plant. You cannot control the amount of nutrients that the plants receive.

Liquid fertilizer: This is the best fertilizer for most houseplants, including peace lily. You can control the amount by diluting it. This will also help to avoid overfertilization. Liquid fertilizers can provide a steady supply of nutrients to the plants.

Organic fertilizers

Many people don’t like to fertilizers their plants with chemical fertilizers and opt for organic fertilizers instead. 

Organic fertilizers can work well for peace lilies as these plants are sensitive to chemicals. 

However, the only problem with organic fertilizer is that we cannot control the dose, and we do not know how much nutrients the plant is getting. 

If you are not sure of the quantity, always go for less. 

Let’s look at some common organic fertilizers. 

Compost: Compost is very common and a great way of fertilizing plants. Compost comprises organic remains such as dried leaves, food scraps, clippings of grass and plants, etc. 

Aquarium water: If you have an aquarium in the house, you can use its water to fertilize your plants. This water is rich in Nitrogen due to the fish poop. So whenever you are changing your aquarium’s water, do not throw the water away and use it on your peace lily. 

Eggshells: You can crush clean eggshells and grind them to fine particles. You can add this to the soil or make a fertilizer tea overnight by soaking them in boiled water. 

Eggshells provide calcium, and it helps to reduce the acidity of the soil. 

Banana peels: Banana peels are a great source of potassium. It also contains some nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium. 

You can cut the fields into small pieces, add them directly to the soil, make a cream of it by adding it to water, and then pour it on the soil. This will act as a great slow-release fertilizer. 

Coffee grounds: You can make a liquid fertilizer by soaking coffee grounds in water for a week. This will be a great source of Nitrogen that will promote the growth of your plants.

When should I fertilize my Peace Lily?

First of all, you must fertilize your Peace Lily when it is healthy. Fertilization can help and work on healthy plants only. If the plant is sick due to some reason, fertilizing will cause more harm.

The best time to fertilize the Peace Lily is during the summer and spring seasons when it grows actively. The thumb rule goes like fertilize more during the growing season and less as winter approaches.

You can fertilize your Peace Lily once a month to once in two weeks during the growing season. 

However, reduce the fertilizing when winter starts approaching and stop fertilizing in winter. This is the dormant period when the plant rests and doesn’t show much growth.

It works internally and stores up energy for growth during the growing season. You can fertilize your Peace Lily again two months before the growing season.

How do you fertilize peace lilies?

Fertilizing your Peace Lily plant is no rocket science. All you need to know is the correct dose and the proper method. And you are good to go. 

Let’s check out the right way of fertilizing your Peace Lily. 

1. Pick the right fertilizer. (I recommend Jack’s all purpose fertilizer)
2. Dilute the fertilizer with a liter of water. This will reduce the strength to half or one-fourth. 
3. Add this to your Peace Lily once in two weeks or once a month during spring and summer. 
4. If you are using compost, add a handful of it once in two months. 
5. Always water your peace Lily after fertilizing it so that the fertilizer gets evenly distributed.

What happens if you overfertilize your Peace Lily? 

You always need to be careful with fertilizers because over-fertilization can bring other problems with it. 

This is why we recommend you to go with less fertilizer if you are unsure of the amount. 

If you have an overfertilized Peace Lily, it will show you signs of problems. 

• Wilting of leaves
• Discoloration 
• Stunted growth
• Burnt roots
• White spots on the soil
• Brown leaf tips 

If you notice the above-mentioned signs, check your fertilizing routine and figure out if you are overdoing it. 

If you have made the mistake of over-fertilizing your peace Lily, there are some ways to revise your plant. 

How to fix an overfertilized Peace Lily?

If you have overfed your Peace Lily, you need to act fast to fix this issue. Follow the below-mentioned steps:

1. Inspect the condition of your plant.
2. Prune all the damaged and burnt leaves and stems.
3. Scrape the top one or two inches of the soil to remove the excess fertilizer build-up.
4. Shower your Peace Lily with water thoroughly to extract the excess salt and allow the water to drain out.
5. Repot your Peace Lily with fresh soil if the condition is severe.

If your Peace Lily doesn’t require repotting and the condition is not that bad, you can skip repotting and avoid fertilizing the plant for at least 4-6 weeks.

You can start fertilizing once you notice new growth.

Do Peace Lilies like Epsom salts?

Epsom salt is an outstanding source of magnesium. So, the peace lilies will require Epsom salts only if there is a magnesium deficiency in them.

Final words

Fertilization is necessary, so you must not skip it if you want to see your Peace Lily growing and thriving.

Go for a diluted liquid fertilizer with a 20:20:20 NPK ratio for your Peace Lily. Fertilize the plant once a month or once every two weeks during the growing season.

Avoid fertilizing during the winter season, and don’t think of fertilizing if the Peace Lily is not doing well. Give it time to recover before you fertilize it again.

If your Peace Lily grows in a low-light zone, it will require less fertilizer as its metabolism will remain low due to less light. 

Never forget the golden rule of fertilizing: less is more.

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