Peace Lily Temperature Tolerance: Ideal Range+How To Maintain

Peace lilies are valued for their bold green leaves with white spathes and tolerance for a low light environment. However, there is one thing that you need to maintain at the right level: Temperature. Any wild temperature fluctuation can stress the plant and lead to a lot of problems including wilting of the foliage.

So, what temperature is best for peace lily? Let’s find out!

Peace lilies belong to the tropical environment where they are used to high temperatures. When kept indoors, peace lilies enjoy a wide range of temperatures ranging from 65-85°F. The nighttime temperature could be 10°F cooler. However, it cannot tolerate a temperature level below 45°F.

If you expose your peace lily to cold drafts by keeping it on the balconies at night, too close to the window, or directly under fan or air conditioners, the plant will get damaged.

Being tropical plants, they enjoy warmth but not cold. Cold temperatures harm the plant more than high temperatures.

Today’s article will explain how to save your plant from excessive-high or low temperatures. We will also cover information regarding how to manage the correct temperature for Peace Lilies indoors.

What is the ideal range of temperature for Peace Lilies?

Peace lilies originate from the tropical rainforest areas of America. They grow best in warm temperatures ranging between 68-85°F. This temperature is preferable during the daytime. 

However, during the night the temperatures may vary. At night, the temperature might be 10°F cooler. And your peace lily will have no problem with that.

If, at any point, the temperature drops between 45-50°F, it will not cause any damage to the plant. The Peace Lilies will be able to survive this temperature. But the growth rate will reduce.

Just make sure not to expose the plant to temperatures below 45°F, or it will not survive. Similarly, do not let the plant receive a temperature higher than 90°F.

When these plants are exposed to high temperatures, the leaves start drooping and develop brown spots. Intense sun rays can increase the temperature and cause sunburn to your peace lily. 

If your peace lily is exposed to cold weather, it slowly damages the plant, starting with black tips and edges to gradually damage the entire leaves, turning them black.

The signs of damage will either show in few days or will take a lot of time to show up. Slowly, it will start affecting the stems and the whole plant.

We humans cannot tolerate temperatures higher than 90°F. We always maintain the proper tolerable temperature inside our houses. That is why Peace Lilies are grown indoors, where the temperatures would be ideal for them. 

Effects of low temperature on peace lilies

Peace lilies are tropical plants, and thus they will not tolerate extreme cold conditions. Temperatures below 45°F become too cold for the plants. If your plant is exposed to chilling weather, it will be poorly affected. 

The intensity of harmful effects depends on the size, the maturity of the leaves, and the duration of exposure to cold weather.

When the Peace Lilies are exposed to temperatures below 45°F, they start showing signs, starting from the leaves and then gradually harming the whole plant. You start noticing that the leaves of your peace lily are falling off.

When the damage moves inwards, the plant starts showing signs like brown spots that eventually turn black, and if kept in such a condition for a long time, the plant dies.

If the roots freeze due to excessive cold, there will be little hope to bring the plant alive. If you ignore the plant, the damage will be more, and it will be impossible to reverse the situation.

Being exposed to low temperatures will slow down their growth. The Peace Lilies can tolerate temperature between 45°F-55°F, and the only problem might notice is that you plant will grow very slowly.

How to keep the peace lily warm?

To save your peace lily from cold, you need to change its current position and shift it to a warmer spot.

To keep the plant warm, you need to keep them near windows that receive enough sunlight. Peace lilies need bright but indirect sunlight to remain warm. It means the light they receive should be bright and not too intense. 

You can keep your peace lily near south or west-facing windows to keep it warm.

Sometimes, south or west-facing windows can give your plant too much heat. In such conditions, keep your plant some feet away from the window. If windows have curtains, pull them down to create filters for the direct sun.

You can also keep the plant in the north or east-facing windows, as these directions do not receive intense sun rays.

The best way to keep the peace lily warm is by keeping them in a room with large windows, where bright daylight penetrates through the windows and touches the plant. Ensure the windows have curtains whenever the sun feels intense.

If your peace lily has undergone frost, bring it to a warm location. Get rid of the affected leaves. 

Due to excessive chilling, the growth might slow down. So, after you bring it to a warm environment, it might not start growing fast immediately. It will need time to recover from the frost. So be patient and wait until it heals and starts growing healthy again. 

Water your peace lily with tepid or room temperature water. Avoid too hot or too cold water. 

Effects of high temperature on Peace Lily

Exposing the peace lily to too high temperatures affects the health of the plant. If your plant gets too much heat, it will get brown leaves, curling leaves, dead patches, leaves turning brown in the edges and tips. If exposed to intense sun rays, the leaves will have sunburns and will start drooping too.

To keep them away from high temperatures, you can move them to a place where the temperature is moderate. Keep the peace lily in a spot where there is shade. 

If you are growing the plant on a patio, move it to a shady spot. If that spot is too dark, you can use grow lights to provide them sufficient light. It will work just fine.

Get rid of the leaves that have gone brown and dry. You do not have to prune off the slightly brown leaves. They might recover after the plant heals from the hot temperatures. Water the plant well with tepid water to keep them a little cool, but do not wet them.

Move them from areas with radiators, heaters, ovens, or fireplaces. The extremely high temperature released from these will harm the plant.

Also read: Where Should Peace Lily Be Placed? (Ideal Spot+Placement Tips)

How to maintain the ideal temperature for peace lily indoors?

Originating from tropical areas, peace lilies do not enjoy cold weather. At the same time, although they need a slightly high temperature for remaining warm, they do not like too high temperatures either. 

Peace lilies grow fine under the forest canopy with indirect sunlight in their natural habitat. When you bring and grow a peace lily indoors, you need to maintain the average room temperature to keep it happy and healthy.

Proper watering will help to regulate the correct temperature for the peace lilies. You can water more frequently during the spring and summer. During the summers, the temperature remains too high, hot, and dry. 

Watering more often will keep them moderately cool, maintain the correct temperature, and help prevent the soil from dry conditions. 

During the fall and winter months, peace lilies need less watering. You need to keep the plant warm. If you have placed your peace lily near a balcony or door, bring it inside at night and expose it to sunlight for a few hours in the day to keep them warm.

You can water them less during these seasons, as frequent watering might give them a cold, damp feeling.

Keep your plant in a spot where doors and windows are not frequently closed and opened. Keeping your plant near the windows and doors constantly opened and closed allows drafts to enter and reach the plant, causing severe temperature fluctuations.

To maintain the ideal temperature for Peace Lily, keep the plant somewhere near the window, where it will constantly get bright light but not direct sunlight.

The best way to keep them warm will be to keep them in a room with large windows and curtains that filter the direct sunlight. Such an environment will be perfect for your peace lily.

Average room temperature will be best for these plants.

Also read: How To Care For Peace Lily In Winter? (Peace Lily Winter Care)

Can peace lily survive in air-conditioned rooms?

Coming from tropical areas, peace lilies do not like cold weather at all. But they can thrive in air-conditioned rooms, provided they are far away from the reach of direct air. 

Though it is better not to keep your peace lily in AC rooms if you intend to keep it in such rooms, just make sure it does not get the dry cold and direct air of the AC.

To make these plants survive in air-conditioned rooms, you need to create and maintain a proper harmony so that the plant remains healthy throughout.

Hydration:

1. Water your peace lily accordingly to keep it hydrated always.
2. Keep misting it to maintain the correct humidity. The cold air from the air conditioner can make the plant and the soil dry, making it difficult to absorb nutrients.

Location: Keep your peace lily away from the air vent of air conditioners. It will prevent your plant from coming in direct contact with the cold air. Direct cold air can take away all the moisture from the plant.

Check the leaves of your peace lily. If they show any reaction, it may be because you have kept your plant too close to the AC.

Also, make sure to keep the plant near a window with curtains down to get bright indirect sunlight, which will help the plant stay warm.

Maintain the humidity: Cool air coming out from the air conditioners can dry up the plant quickly and lower the humidity level. 

Peace lilies need at least 50% humidity to thrive well. Misting is a good choice, but this is temporary. You can place it in a terrarium which will help the plant stay warm and humid.

It will keep them from cold temperature and dry air released by air conditioners. Choose a jar suitable according to the plant size.

In this method, you might not have to water them frequently, as the water vapor the plant releases will get recycled by condensing on the jar and run down into the soil.

Also read: 16 best plants for an air-conditioned room.

Final words

Maintaining proper temperatures for peace lilies is necessary as they cannot withstand too high or too low temperatures.

During winters, they can tolerate direct sun, but they cannot handle cold drafts. So it is better to maintain an ideal temperature to protect them from cold.

A warm room with indirect sunlight will give the best results for your peace lily. Avoid keeping any heat generator in the plant room. Protect them from heat.

Along with temperature, do not forget to maintain the humidity. While keeping your peace lily in air-conditioned rooms, it might lose humidity. Maintain at least 50% humidity.

There are many ways of maintaining it, like pebble trays, group plantings, humidifiers. Follow any one way that suits you perfectly, on a long-term basis.

Watering too helps in maintaining a proper temperature. The quantity differs according to seasons, so water them accordingly. Take good care of the plant and give them all their requirements adequately.

---

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