The gorgeous tropical foliage makes the peace lily an attractive year-round houseplant option on its own, but the tall spathes and single-petaled white blooms make it downright splendid. These tropical plants look like they would be hard to grow and care for, so it's a pleasant surprise that the peace lily is one of the lowest maintenance of the tropical houseplants available.

Light

Peace lilies naturally grow in shaded areas beneath forest canopies, so they are more than able to tolerate the dimmer conditions in most homes. In fact, too much light damages and scorches the broad green leaves.

Temperature

Temperature requirements are similar to most tropicals – 55 to 80 F. Since these temperatures are the standard in most homes this is rarely an issue. The main thing to watch for is hot or cold air drafts from vents, windows and doors.

Water and Humidity

Peace lilies do most of their growth in spring and summer, and typically need weekly watering at this time. You can reduce watering in winter as long as the soil doesn't dry completely. Peace lilies also need humidity, which you can provide by misting the plants regularly or keeping them in a high humidity area, such as a bathroom.

Feeding

For best bloom, feed the peace lily weekly throughout summer with a soluble tropical plant fertilizer. If weekly feeding is just too much to remember, the plant is equally happy with a single spring feeding with a slow-release fertilizer. The plants don't require feeding in winter, even though they are green, because they are semi-dormant at this time and growing slowly.