Peace lily blooms are green, not white!

newbie,

It is normal for Peace Lily leaves to point up. That is how they grow. The plant looks OK to me--a bit sparse--but Ok. New leaves will grow and fill it in eventually.
Remember--the Peace Lilly (Spathophylum) is a LOW light plant. It also likes to be root-bound--AND, never let it get so dry that it wilts. That is very traumatic to this plant.

Spider plants:
The all green grows a lot faster and "seems" more robust, BUT-----it is not as "graceful" as the striped one. When the "all greens" get older--they tend to separate/sprawl in the middle and the plant looks kind of yuk. You cannot change a green to a striped--and v.v.

Re the babies.....Wait until they have grown some of the air-roots while still attached to mama. Then you can break them off and--
1. Put them in a glass of water for the roots to start growing--about 2 weeks. Then pot
them up.
2. Plant them directly in fresh potting mix and keep moist. Both will work.

Your little "baby" in the picture looks way too small to have any roots on it. If it has NO roots growing on it, let it "hang around" for a while longer. You will see them when they are ready. The "babies" hanging all over a Spider plant is also what makes it so beautiful. Pick off only the bigger ones with dried roots all around them as they distract from the good looks of the plant.

Just some more facts--Maam.....
Spider plants make "garlic-clove-like things" on their roots in the soil that store water. In an older Spider plant, the whole pot can be filled with these "cloves". Because of this--a Spider Plant can go long periods without water with no ill effects.

Another fact---Brown tips on a Spider plant are caused by a couple different things.
1..Being of the "Dracena" family--it absolutely abhors Chlorine and other "salts" in the water we have in our homes! If you are on a well--Not to worry! Otherwise--fill a jug/bottle (top off!) with water from your tap and let it air out for a couple of days. Chlorine is a gas and will eveporate. Then use that to water the Spiders.
2..Low humidity will do this also. take your Spider outside for the Summer--put it somewhere with filtered light. Too much sun will burn it up.
2..It does NOT hurt the plant to have the leaves trimmed back like you did. Keep it up!

Hope you feel better about all this!

Gita

I am very new to houseplants. I was given a peace lily three years ago when my brother passed away. I never really did any thing for it except water it and give it houseplant food when the leaves looked faded. I had it in a window, just to give it some natural light. I really didn't know if it was a house plant or not. It has never gotten much bigger than when I got it. I put it out on my deck one day for some rain water.I know this goes against its nature,but it started looking better than it ever had. It has started growing,and I had to change pots. What do you make of all this?

All plants like fresh air and the natural humidity and rain showers of outdoors. I take everything I own outside for the summer--except my African Violets.

You just have to watch the light requirements. Peace Lily needs almost total shade outside....

Also--there are several varieties of Spath. The one that is called "Petit Spath" is a smaller variety and will never grow much taller.

Then there is the "regular" Spath---and then there is the "Spath Sensation" which has HUGE, dark green leaves and also HUGE blooms. it is spectacular--but may be too large for the average home.

Gita

Thank you so much Gita. I want to keep these plants for a long time!!!

thanks gitagal! i appreciate it!

I am bumping this thread for two different reasons:

1. I was tickled pink to see "The Dave" posting a question in the Beginner Houseplant forum... Just confirms how "down to earth" (pun intended) Daves Garden really is.. Kinda homey and comfortable.

2. There is alot of great information about Peace Lily Care, and so many Beginner Houseplant People begin with Spaths/Peace Lilys.

I realize it's a pretty old thread, and I didn't read the whole thread to see if there was a definitive answer to this question, but what's being referred to as a 'bloom' (the spathe) is actually a modified leaf or bract. In the white spathes, the chloroplasts are masked, but sometimes become more prevalent and move the bract toward green when exposed to sufficient light. The spike in the middle of the modified leaf is actually the bloom.

To draw a parallel, what almost everyone calls the flower or bloom on a poinsettia are also modified leaves (bracts), the color of which are greatly affected by photo-period and to some degree, photo-intensity. The poinsettia's blooms, like the spathe's are also rather insignificant/inconspicuous and located in the middle of the bracts.

Al

I have a peace lily (I think) and it has never bloomed. I got it at Gran's funeral, it has like 20 plants with 6 inches of stem and adventitious roots. I have broken off a couple and those stems started sprouting at the base and the broken off tops are growing away, but still no blooms. How can I tell a spath from an aglaonema? Will peace lilies grow stalks? I got a different peace lily as a rescue. I know it is a couple years old and it has no stalks, so that got me to wondering.

Tapla - Does that mean that if I move my Peace Lily even further from the window the bracts of any new flowers should be white??

I have my plant on my desk at work, it's next to the window but I have a heavy woven curtain that only lets a small amount of light through. The plant looks very healthy and is constantly sprouting new leaves and flowers, but they are all green.

Thanks

Dave: I have 2 Peace Lillies. One I got about 2 months ago in a plant garden. It's only about 12 inches high, and the blooms come up white and about 2 weeks later turn green just like the leaves. The other one I just got Saturday from my Mother's funeral. It's huge and stands about 3 feet off the floor The blooms are huge and probably old, but are still pure white. Are these different kinds of Peace Lily?
I have been keeping the small one near a grow light. What's the difference? Thanks
patkam49

Pat----

Yes! There are different kinds of Peace Lilies.....from small --to huge....
But they are ALL still Peace Lilies--aka as "Spathophylum.

--The small ones are called "Petite Spath".....They are seldom sold in anything bigger
than a 6" pot. The leaves of this one have a slight "crinkled" look to them.
These were also introduced many years ago in a variegated form. Pretty!
They are also the ones that everyone used in that "craze" many years back with the
Petite Spath in a vase of water with the fish swimming in it....Do you remember?

******NO need to keep a Peace Lily under a grow light!!! It is a LOW LIGHT plant....
Too much light--and it will char around the leaf-edges.....the leaf-tips will fade out...etc.

--Then there are the average-sized Peace Lilies. No name--just regular sized.....
Green leaves--white blooms, etc....Maybe 2+ feet tall.

--Then there are the HUGE Spath----(can't think of the name right now).
Something like--"Majesty"---or "Supreme".....Help me out here!!!....
Everything is bigger on it! The leaves are huge---deep green--the blooms
are huge....and they DO last longer....And the plant itself is HUGE!!!
A wonderful specimen!

No matter what size any Spath comes in--when the blooms fade--they turn green.
Eventually, the stamens inside them turn yukky--dark, and ugly.
Then it is time to cut the whole bloom stem off.
Cut it just above where it emerges from the leaf. Leaving an inch or so of the stem
sticking out will help to pull the dead stem out from the leaf--as it will have, totally,
"browned out". This may be a ways down the road....

***Another note----
Peace Lilies LOVE being root bound! You can tell from the way they are sold in stores.....
You could swear that they will pop the pot---but, yet, they are happily blooming away....

DO NOT always hurry to transplant a Peace Lily to a bigger pot!!!!
AND--When the time comes that you have to---go up just ONE size bigger pot.
Don't forget--that one size bigger will also be about 2" deeper.
ALWAYS put about 2" extra soil in the bottom of the pot--NEVER on top of it
to fill it up. Plants need to ALWAYS stay att he same level that they were growing at.....

Hope this answers some of your questions.....Glad I could help....

Gita

Help!!! my peace lily is dying and i don't know what to do!! in reading the above thread, i think i just need to cut off all the flowers with the black pollen thing in the middle?

Your plant looks very healthy…Those spaths (flowers) don't live forever. You need to deadhead, and your plant will produce many more.