Gardeners should avoid a common mistake that cause peace lilies to have “sappy growth”, an expert says. Peace lilies are a staple of many British gardens and are known for their beautiful flower-like spathes, often mistaken for petals, that tend to appear in Spring.
They’re popular both for their pretty appearance, air-purifying qualities, and the fact they they don’t need to be watered as much as others.
However, Chris Collins, head of organic horticulture at the sustainable gardening charity Garden Organic, warns gardeners against overlooking peace lilies and avoiding an easy error that can attract pests.
Chris told Express.co.uk: “It’s easy to forget to feed your peace lillies too, but they like a nice organic liquid feed such as seaweed, or a slow-release comfrey pellet, now and again.”
Artificial fertilizers are a great cost-effective alternative for gardeners looking to do a lot with a little, but they aren’t always the best choice.
Chris advises against using them with peace lilies as, “as well as not being good for the environment, they act like a speedy sugar hit for the plants, creating sappy growth that can increase aphids and other ‘pest’ insects”.
But the biggest mistake people make is to grow their houseplants “in poor, stodgy compost”, the expert warns.
It’s something that peace lilies in particular hate, he continued.
Chris explains that as forest floor plants, “they like humus-rich, open soil full of organic matter”.
His favoured approach is to create his own compost mix “using 70% good quality peat-free compost, 20% bark and 10% loam”.
“You could also add a bit of silver sand,” he added.
Peace lilies are native to tropical regions of the Americas and southeastern Asia but have have become a common sight in gardens all over the world.