I recieved my peace lilly after my Great Uncle died 3 years ago.I have noticed that if the lilly gets droopy in between waterings, then they don't flower. I don't know why this is as I am no expert.

PLs like to be potbound before they'll start to flower. I've had mine for over 2 years, but it's in a fairly large pot with some space to still spread the roots, so it hasn't flowered yet.

And the drooping between waterings is not a bad thing nor the reason for not flowering. It is actually best to wait for the leaves to droop slightly before watering as overwatering with not only obviously cause root rot but it will cause the tips to brown. Dry air with brown the tips as well.

Peace lilies DO NOT need to be potbound to flower. I just repotted mine for the 3rd time in a few years and it still continues to flower.
rdanielle, can you give more information about it...such as
how much light
how big is it
how often do you water
do you fertilize
what type of soil is it in

being in Arizona I planted it in my back Patio Garden and it was light shade.... never direct sun. I firtilized it in the garden every 4 months. now that the summer hit the tips started getting brown from the dry heat. so I put it in a pot with normal potting soil, I just did this about a month and a half ago. I havn't fertilized it yet. I water it when the soil on top begins to dry. placing it in my window but never getting direct sun because it gets so hot. if you can help, I am a new gardener and I have no Idea what to do or use, but I would realy like to keep this plant alive and blooming. Thanks!

The brown tips might not be just from the dry heat. It could be from chlorine in your water. I use bottled water on mine or let water sit out 24 hours uncovered before watering...some say that helps.
You say it is thriving so I think you are doing everything right. You might want to give it a dose of light fertilizer. It probably is trying to settle in from being repotted. If it's healthy and thriving as you say it should bloom. I assume you are getting new leaves and it's growing bigger?
You stated normal potting soil and I have no idea what that can mean really. Should be well draining soil, you don't want it sitting in water. Pl's are sensitive on their water requirements and quickly let you know when they need it, but they also quickly come back IMO. I'm a little concerned you might be overwatering some as you say you water when becomes a little dry on top. But then again it is thriving so I guess you are doing well.

I allow PL's to wilt 'some' between waterings. After a hearty drink, buds develop.
It's like forcing a plant into bloom, same concept.
I agree it isn't mandatory for a PL to be totally rootbound to bloom, but IMO a tight fit helps.
Especially for those who overwaters.

Most PL's, especially all green, cannot tolerate direct sun, summer south or west exposure is harsh. Then again, it depends where one lives and if windows are obstructed by trees, buildings, curatins, blinds. In winter, south or west windows are acceptable, all 5 of my PL's are in south windows throughout the year, but not directly in front. 2 are off the side, smaller PL's are in front of taller plants.
But PL's need light to bloom. Don't believe store clerks who say, 'this plant will thrive in a dark corner..they'll bloom year round.' That's hooey. :)
Tropical plants need light. Be it shady-light or direct.

Danielle..If possible, hose your PL's daily. Aim at foliage, not soil. If hosing is too much work, spray using a mister, though a hose does a better job.
Since you're in AZ, dry air and hot days are fairly harsh on PL's, especially since they love humidity and warm not hot (99F+) degrees. Set pots in a shady spot.
Fertilizing isn't the answer, moist air is. After they adapt, add an All Purpose, preferably, balanced fert. Eg:5-5-5.
Danielle, you mentioned repotting. What size was and is its new pot? Did your PL need repotting or did you think setting in a larger pot would promote flowers? :) Toni

Toni, I have to call you out on your conflicting advice.

You say:
"Fertilizing isn't the answer, moist air is. After they adapt, add an All Purpose, preferably, balanced fert. Eg:5-5-5.".
The question or problem is about flowering and the plant is thriving so your above 2 sentences make no sense together.

Toni you know better that just water alone can't possibly force buds..."After a hearty drink, buds develop."
Otherwise we are all fools to the plant fertilizer companies. I am being very sarcastic but are they just selling us water? C'mon!

Spraying, misting etc with temps 80+ in hot dry arid conditions does no good. It evaporates in seconds. It is just wasting water the west doesn't have. Really, the only way would be to set up an automatic mister once an hour that might help...but also give you mold in a house. Then you have bigger problems.
I never mist mine here in sunny hot dry socal and don't intend to. Yes, it is a tropical plant and that may be it's ideal needs, but people grow these and other tropicals around the world and they adapt.

You could always try a humidity tray to raise the humidity, but I'll admit that it probably wouldn't do much either. It'd evaporate in no time, but perhaps it might even be a tiny bit helpful?

You know what they say. A little help goes a long way.

Hi all...where I work there is a PL...and it was very neglected when I started, about a year ago..
any way I started taking care of the PL and I have it blooming and growing, its great..
this is what I did;
the plant is in a 12inch wide by 16 inch deep pot...
its a large plant, but the pot seems alittle big....
I let the soil dry, between watering..
and I add a bloom booster to the water everytime I water...
(I water I guess about once a mouth)
and the plant sits in a filtered west window...
when it rains I put it outside to get wash off and watered...
I am in minnesota..
I don't know what else to say...
I first got 3 flowers and now there are about 6 more opening...good luck...linda

Goblue..In Daniel's second post she mentioned her PL's tips browning. I meant, fertilizer will not stop leaves from browning, increasing humidity will. Especially, since she's a resident of AZ. As far as I'm aware, moist air isn't exactly flowing in AZ.

I recommended planting in a shady spot since her PL's are outdoors. Then suggested, after her PL's adapted, meaning, to their new location, move to containers, and new growth grew in green without brown tips, etc, a balanced fertilizer should be added.

If you want to know the truth, I rarely fertilizer PL's, though I'm not suggesting others do the same.
Last year (2008) mine got one spring feeding, before that, they went two, possibly three years without. Other than once a month Superthrive and fresh soil, (true soil, not soil-less) they were on their own. Yet they bloomed, several times, in the last 3 years. I discovered, withholding water 2-4 weeks, depending on pot size, then a good drink of water, forces blooms. With PL's, I'm not talking other tropicals. All differ.

Goblu, since Danielle mentioned she set her PL's in containers outdoors, I first suggested hosing, 'with a hose.' I then said, if there was a reason she didn't have or couldn't use a hose, (say she lives/rents a third floor appartment, sets her plants on a balcony, and hasn't access or isn't allowed a hose,) it was then I mentioned misting. There are high-powered misters, some pump types, some that work by battery, that do a fantastic job. High powered sprayers are not needed indoors, but do great for container/balcony plants.

As for my belief, I love misting. IMO, it is not a waste of time nor water, especially if water is recycled, and there are many ways to recycle water. Fish tanks, humidifers, dehumidifers, even water from last cycle/washing machines.
Rain water is best, but some areas don't get enough per season to fill a cup, let alone a group of plants.

By spraying, I have found little surprises, some bad, (mites) some great, (buds and flowers.)
It's up to the individual. If one enjoys it, spray, if not, don't. Toni

Toni,
"since Danielle mentioned she set her PL's in containers outdoors". No, she did not say that.
She has it inside now in a window in a pot due to the heat. There is no way even in shade it's gonna handle the AZ heat outdoors during the summer.
You said "fertilizer will not stop leaves from browning".
I never implied or said anything about fertilizer helping the brown tips.
Mine has brown tips, I ignore them, there is nothing I can do.
The main question or problem is about flowering and you told her to water it!

Danielle, sorry this has got a little heated, but since you say it is thriving and no flowers and you haven't fertilized it yet, just give it a light dose when you water and soon you should have buds.

Thanks to the both of you! it was all very informing. to clear some things up, as soon as I moved it into the house I have seen new growth (leaves) and no brown tips. it was obviouse it was way too dry outside. after firtilizing I will let the plant tell me it needs food so I know how long I should wait to water it. I will keep you informed as soon as I get a bloom. oh.... and the plant is in a light corner of my dining room (gets daylight but not direct sun) thanks again :0)

Rebecca

Rebecca, I apologize..I could have sworn you said your PL was now outdoors, in pots, which is the reason I suggested keeping in shade,..PL's will burn in direct outside light, heck, even indoors, you know?

Some PL's can take years before flowering. As for fertilizing, I learned this trick several years ago. Alternate fertilizers. For instance, fert with an All Purpose one month or week, however often you fertilize, then use a flowering type fertilzer the next feeding. Continue doing this throughout the seasons.

I discovered flowering 'might' depend on the type of Peace Lily. For instance, my S.Domino flowers more in fall and early spring. S. Claudia blooms all year. A mini PL blooms only during summer.
I'm not telling you to do this, but I also noticed a PL can be forced into bloom, but that means, no water for several weeks to a month, then soaking soil. Within a week, buds form. For the record, the two standard size PL's are over 10 yrs old, so age might have something to do with it, I'm not sure.

I'm happy to hear your new growth isn't brown. Dry air is hard on tropicals. Believe me, we live in a arid state. That's why I keep humidifers, indoor fountains running, daily misting and weekly showering.

Please keep us posted. And if you have photos, please posts. Again, I apologize for my error. Toni

I'm sorry, Rebecca, but IMO there's a lot of unsupportable information and conjecture in the advice you've received on this thread so far.

Allowing the plant to dry down is going to cause leaf tip and marginal leaf necrosis (dead tips & leaf edges). The plant needs almost NO fertilizer indoors, so it's dangerous to the plant to fertilize one week with fertilizer 'A' and the next week (even the next month - especially "all through the seasons") with 'B'. With this plant, that type of fertilizing virtually guarantees greater leaf burn unless you are growing in an extremely fast soil. IF you were to adopt that regimen, you could only use a tiny amount of fertilizer in each gallon of water - a drop or two, or you should expect burn.

This plant actually tolerates low humidity (to about 15%) IF the plant is fertilized properly and not over-fertilized. It's NOT the lack of humidity that causes leaf tip & marginal necrosis (though when the plant is over-fertilized, it IS a contributor), it's a high level of soluble salts in the soil that makes it difficult for the plant to absorb water that is almost always to blame. Over-fertilizing, as suggested, will simply exacerbate the problem.

Alternating fertilizers with a bloom-boosting blend would also be very counter-productive. The plant uses about 6 times as much N as it does P, so there is no way to justify adding fertilizers with unnecessarily high levels of P to the soil that cannot be used by the plant. The added P simply causes more burning.

Allowing this plant to go 2-4 weeks w/o water will force it into an 'environmental dormancy' as a drought response. This kills the top growth (leaves) which are making the food for the blooms in the next bloom cycle. I don't think that's what you need to promote blooming.

IMO, Superthrive, used as a tonic is useless. (I'll provide a link to some experiments I performed if you're interested). Misting the plant, IMO, is also counter-productive and more apt to cause problems than solve them. It's generally accepted that the presence of 'real soil' in container soils is best avoided. It compacts, slows drainage, and greatly reduces the most important characteristic of container soils - aeration.

I'm wondering why, if someone "... learned this trick several years ago. Alternate fertilizers. For instance, fert with an All Purpose one month or week, however often you fertilize, then use a flowering type fertilzer [sic] the next feeding. Continue doing this throughout the seasons." there would be this offering just a little up-thread: "... I rarely fertilizer PL's, though I'm not suggesting others do the same. Last year (2008) mine got one spring feeding, before that, they went two, possibly three years without. Other than once a month Superthrive and fresh soil, (true soil, not soil-less) they were on their own. Yet they bloomed, several times, in the last 3 years." That seems like a complete contradiction to me.

May I suggest: A south window behind window treatments that diffuse a good part of the light or an east window. Keep the plant at 65-90* - no lower than 65*, very low doses of any 3:1:2 ratio fertilizer whenever the plant is growing robustly, whenever you water - water thoroughly and flush the soil of salts each time - then allow the plant to dry just to the point you notice the slightest bit of wilting and water again. Watering with deionized (distilled) water when you're not watering with fertilizer solution will go a long way toward curing the burn problem and you wouldn't need to flush the soil at every watering, either.

Take care - wishing you well with your plant.

Al