When your peace lily blooms, there’s nothing better than a nice white bloom. However, this doesn’t always happen. In fact, sometimes your peace lily flower ends up turning green instead, which can be incredibly disappointing. In this article, not only are you going to find out the common reasons this happens, but you’ll also learn what you can do to prevent it from happening as well!
Why Are Your Peace Lily Flowers Turning Green (And What To Do About It
Here are all the different reasons your peace lily flowers could be turning green, and more importantly, the things you can do to treat and prevent it!
Your Peace Lily Isn’t Getting Enough Light
One reason that your peace lily flower may be turning green is that your peace lily simply isn’t getting enough light. When your plant isn’t getting enough light to photosynthesize properly, it will start to create and shift chlorophyll to maximize its utility. And because the flower itself can contain chlorophyll, this can end up causing it to become green.
Solution
The solution here is simple. You’ll need to place your peace lily in an area where it can get a bit more light. Remember, though, too much sunlight is going to damage your peace lily as well, so you’ll need to get the balance just right. Placing them under other plants or by an east-facing window is a couple of great places.
If you’re not sure whether an area has enough light, it’s possible to get a light meter on your phone.
Too Much Fertilizer
Another reason that our peace lily flowers may be turning green is that you’ve been using too much fertilizer. The more fertilizer you use, the more chlorophyll will be produced, which will eventually result in the spathes of your peace lilies becoming green. This is especially true with plant fertilizers that contain a lot of iron and nitrogen.
Solutions
The solution here is simple; you just need to make sure you’re not fertilizing your peace lily that often, as they really don’t need it. In fact, it’s only necessary to fertilize your peace lily lightly a couple of times a year. The best time to do it is during spring and summer when they’re going to go through the most growth.
And lastly, if you’re going to use a fertilizer, halve the strength beforehand to make sure that it’s not going to be too strong for your peace lily.
Acclimation
If you’ve recently purchased your peace lily and it’s started to go green, then it may be because it’s acclimating to its new environment.
When peace lilies are being grown by professionals, the chances are they’re going to be getting the perfect amount of light, nutrients, water, etc. So once they’re brought home, they may end up producing more chlorophyll once the conditions have changed.
Solution
Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do for this one. The key is just trying to create the best conditions possible for your peace lily. And remember, peace lilies live for 3-5 years, so even if the flowers are green when you get them home the first time, they’ll probably end up going white at some point the next time they bloom!
It’s Normal
And sometimes, this is just normal for peace lilies. Certain species of peace lily always have a greening spathe, and there’s nothing you can do to change that. The best thing you can do is just make sure you’re trying to keep your plant as healthy as possible, and it will still continue to bloom beautiful flowers!
Old Age
And lastly, as your peace lilies flower gets older, it will start to turn green. Some species will become greener and greener as the chlorophyll production in the spathe increases with age. Never forget, your peace lilies flowers are just a modification of the normal leaves, so they still have the ability to produce chlorophyll.
They only flower temporarily to allow pollination to occur; once that’s happened, they’ll go back to their main purpose.
If you notice that your peace lily flower is turning green and brown, then it’s probably due to old age. As a peace lily flower ages, the natural progression for it is to turn from green to brown, and finally black. As long as the rest of the plant is healthy, you don’t have anything to worry about, but you can remove the flower.
How Do You Get Your Peace Lily To Turn White?
Unfortunately, if your peace lily is green, there’s not a lot you can do to get it to turn white. And likewise, you also can’t get your peace lily to stay white forever either. However, with that being said, there are a few things you can do to maximize your peace lily flowers turning white in the future!
Here’s what you can do:
Water Them Properly
The first thing you can do is make sure that you’re watering your peace lily properly. This means not too much and not too little. To make sure you’re giving them enough water, put your finger into the soil. If you notice the soil is moist a knuckle deep, then they won’t need watering just yet. However, if you notice that the soil is dry, it’s time to water them again.
Use The Right Kind Of Water
You should also make sure you’re using the right kind of water as well. Water straight from the tap is going to contain chemicals such as fluoride and chloramine that aren’t good for your peace lily. So before using tap water, make sure you leave it to sit for 24-48 hours before adding it to your peace lilies pot.
Temperature And Humidity Are Key
Peace lilies are from tropical environments, so when you’re growing one in your home, you need to match this environment as best you can. To match the environment properly, you should try to keep the temperature between 68 and 85°F while allowing a 10°F drop at night.
As well as this, you should also mist your peace lilies once or twice a week to make sure that the environment around them is humid enough. Failing that, you can add a humidifier or group tropical plants together so they can create their own microclimate.
Don’t Overfertilize
Also, make sure you’re not overfertilizing your peace lily either. When you overfertilize them, they’re going to want to use as much nutrients as possible to help themselves grow, which means they’ll also need more chlorophyll to help themselves photosynthesize.
If you do end up overfertilizing your peace lily, not only will it cause the blooms to change color, but your plant may also end up suffering from nutrient burn as well!
The Right Amount Of Light
Of course, this is the most important step, making sure that your peace lily isn’t getting too much or too little light. Either of which is going to damage your peace lilies flowers.
The best way to test the light is to look at your shadow where you plan on putting your peace lily. If you notice your shadow is dark, then the light is probably too much. However, if you notice that your shadow is kind of faint, then this could be the ideal place to put your peace lily.
Should You Cut Green Flowers Off Your Peace Lily?
Green flowers are not going to harm your peace lily, so it’s entirely up to you whether you want to cut them off or not. Some people like to cut them off for aesthetic reasons, and some people choose to keep them if their peace lily is healthy anyway.
The reasoning behind both is as follows. If your peace lily has a green bloom, then it’s going to be expending energy on keeping it alive, when that energy could go into a new flower.
However, one worthwhile thing to do if you notice that your peace lily has turned green is have a think about the different reasons it might have happened and act accordingly.
FAQ
Here are some commonly asked questions about peace lilies turning green.
How Come My Peace Lily Never Turned White?
If your peace lily never turned white, then the most likely reason is that they weren’t getting enough light to begin with. You should try moving its location to somewhere that has more bright, indirect light.
How Long Do Peace Lily Flowers Last?
You can expect your peace lilies to last about a month; however, sometimes, it may even be longer. They are most likely to flower in the spring; however, occasionally, people notice they flower again in autumn as well.
Recap
Now you know all the reasons that your peace lily flower started to turn green. And fortunately, you should also know all the different ways you can prevent it from happening again in the future.
So if you liked this article, make sure you check out the rest of the website. Otherwise, have a great day!
