Spathiphyllum, commonly known as peace lily, is a houseplant loved for its vibrancy and adaptability due to its glossy green foliage and beautiful white flowers as well. While most people are acquainted with growing peace lilies from potted plants or seeds, few understand that peace lily bulbs are equally an alternative for the propagation of these elegant plants. If you love peace lilies, learning how peace lily bulbs work, their use in the lifecycle of the plant, and how to tend to them will definitely make it possible for you to have a flourishing and long-lasting peace lily. In this article, Peace Lily Bulbs weโll come to an end to all the things that you would want to know about peace lily bulbs.
Peace lilies don’t have a bulb like the tulips or daffodils and thus are mostly confused with other plants that do have true bulbs. Instead of a fleshy bulb, a peace lily grows from a more specialized structure known as a rhizome or creeping rootstalk, which is an enlarged horizontal underground stem that serves a dual purpose of generating roots and shoots. At times, such rhizomes are also known as peace lily bulbs, although strictly speaking, they are not really bulbs considering the definition of what constitutes a bulb.
Such rhizomes are also very essential in the development and reproduction of peace lilies. They tend to be energy and nutrient stores for the plant so that the plant can form more new leaves and shoots over time. If you have ever had a peace lily and have unnecessarily relocated it from its pot, then you must have seen such rhizomes lying in the soil, looking like bulbous protruding structures.
The most common method of propagating peace lilies is by separating the established bulb-like rhizomes. When the peace lily plant grows to a reasonable size, it develops new shoots or clumps called rhizomes. These can be gently separated from the mother plant and planted to produce a full peace lily.
Remove the Peace Lily from its pot: Carefully displace the soil surrounding the plant, lifting the plant out of the pot without damaging the roots or the rhizomes.
Identify the Rhizomes: Roots that are buried in the ground similar to roots and are hard and chunky in shape; the base, come spring, will typically feature small shoots or new growths off to the side.
Divide the rhizomes: Each piece that has one or more new shoots should be cut with a clean knife or shears. Hold on to a few sections that have roots attached to them.
Repot the New Plants: Economizing the number of divided rhizomes of the plants thereby under two or three puts each divided rhizome in its individual pot with a fresh meal.
Peace lilies prefer soil that is well-drained and contains plenty of nutrients. The best soil for peace lily plants is that which replicates their environment: moist ground with humus and mulch. Below is a simple soil mix for peace lily bulbs (rhizomes) that has proven to be effective:
Peat moss and perlite โ in equal quantities: While peat moss has the ability to hold water, perlite is useful for aeration and moisture drainage.
Organic Matter or Compost: Compost is added to enhance the soil to provide the nutrients necessary for the plants and also duplicates the environment where peace lilies grow.
Acidic Soil, Almost 6 pH (Range 5.8 โ 6.5): Soft or slightly acidic soil, that is peace lily‘s soil preference is within a soil pH of 5.8 to 6.5. You can use a soil test kit to check the soil pH.
In addition to the right soil mix, ensure that your pot has enough drainage holes. This is important as much as peace lilies love moisture; when peace lilies are waterlogged, the chances of their roots rotting are high.
After youโve accomplished the task of propagating the peace lily, it is best to look at what exactly needs to be done to ensure that the new plants flourish. After propagating peace lily bulbs or rhizomes, here are some tips to help you take care of them:
While peace lilies prefer soil that hasnโt dried out consistently, they do not like to be overwatered. You should only water your new propagated plants if the top 1 inch of soil feels dry to the touch. If the saucer attached to the pot has water, discard it to avert any chance of root rot since sagging is commonly caused by excess water at the roots.
Peace lilies are comfortable in low to medium indirect light. They should not be exposed to direct sun, as that would burn their leaves. After propagating your new plants, ensure that they are placed in a corner where filtered light is available to promote growth.
Freshly propagated peace lilies do not require excessive fertilization immediately. This can be started after a few months, and it is advised to apply the fertilizers once every 6-8 weeks during the vegetative states (spring and summer) using a balanced, water-soluble fertilizer.
Peace lilies, being tropical plants, do well in the moist air. Spraying or creating a mist around the peace or keeping the peace lily close to the humidifier goes a long way in the healthy growth of the plant since it tries to imitate its natural habitat.
Getting peace lilies to multiply via rhizomes should be quite straightforward; however, there are challenges that should be noted:
The misuse of water in peace lilies is the major contributor to root rot. In order to combat this, do not forget to make sure your pot has sufficient holes in the base for draining excess water out, and do make it a point to allow the soil to “breathe” a little between layers of water.
Many a time it has been noted that peace lilies kept in high humidity and poor air caused them to develop fungal infections. To prevent this from happening, do put your peace lily in an airy area and donโt keep it too wet.
Though the peace lily is generally a pest-free plant, the examples of some insects that may invade the leaves include aphids, spider mites, and mealybugs. It is always recommended that you examine your flora for any signs of such a disaster on a regular basis and tackle the problem quickly with insecticidal soap or neem oil.
An understanding of the function of the peace lily tuber or rhizome in the development and reproduction of these lovely plants, leaning towards collecting plenty of them, can be beneficial to you. Given the correct type of substrate, as well as illumination and care, you will be able to reproduce your peace lilies and help their charm pervade your entire house.
Peace lily bulbs (rhizomes) provide an innovative answer to enlarging the number of plants and having more of these delicately designed plants at home. These tips are going to be useful either to a long-term plant person or to someone new to gardening in taking care of peace lilies.
The Peace Lily, with its elegant white blooms and lush green leaves, purifies the air and symbolizes nature’s calming beauty.
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