Is Hydroponic Peace Lily Easy to Grow? A Detailed Guide to Winter Care and Fish-Keeping Methods

The peace lily (Spathiphyllum) is a perennial herbaceous plant and an important ornamental flower worldwide. It has the effect of filtering indoor exhaust air and absorbing toxic gases such as ammonia, benzene and formaldehyde, and is often placed indoors for appreciation. It can be grown in soil or hydroponically, so is hydroponic peace lily easy to grow? How to care for it in winter? Can fish be kept in it?

1. Is hydroponic peace lily easy to grow?

Hydroponic peace lily not only has the traditional flower-appreciation and foliage-viewing functions of ornamental plants, but also has unique advantages such as being clean and eco-friendly, saving labor and time, being easy to care for, having elegant style and strong ornamental value. It allows you to admire both the beauty of the flowers and the elegance of the roots, which is refreshing and delightful. Thanks to its low-maintenance and convenient nature, the hydroponic peace lily is called a “lazy person’s flower”, so its daily care is very convenient.

1. Choosing a container

If you want to grow it hydroponically, buy a vase with a somewhat larger bottom, generally within a medium-sized fish tank.

2. Suitable ambient temperature

The growing temperature for hydroponic plants is 5°C-30°C, within which range they can all grow normally.

3. Suitable light

Hydroponic plants should mainly receive diffused light; they do not necessarily need to be exposed to the sun. In summer, direct sunlight should be avoided as much as possible.

4. Changing the water and cleaning the flower roots

For hydroponic plants, change the water about once every 7 days in summer and about once every 10-15 days in winter, adding a few drops of special nutrient solution for hydroponic flowers (prepare the nutrient solution concentration according to the instructions). The containers used to grow hydroponic plants easily grow algae, which affects the ornamental value of the roots and also consumes oxygen in the water. When changing the water, first wash off the mucus on the flower roots with clean water, and cut off old roots and rotten roots. Also scrub the algae off the container and the root system. Each time you change the water, the water level should preferably submerge 1/2-2/3 of the root system, and the remaining root sections can be left exposed to the air.

5. Moisture retention and spraying foliar fertilizer

To prevent the leaves from drying out, during daily care you should spray the leaf surfaces with clean water to retain moisture. It is best to spray foliar fertilizer once a week, which can both provide nutrients to the leaves and increase their gloss, and in winter also achieve the purpose of resisting low temperatures. Use nutrient solution for foliage plants; during the bud stage, the leaves need to be sprayed 2 to 3 times with a 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution, which can promote flowering.

2. How to care for hydroponic peace lily in winter?

To get the peace lily through the winter safely, it is best to keep the temperature above 15 degrees. Also pay attention to raising the ambient humidity. In a colder environment, the leaves of the peace lily will droop, and if the temperature is too low the leaves will become soft. In winter, also pay attention to appropriately reducing watering.

When the hydroponic peace lily overwinters, avoid cold air invasion to prevent frost damage. You can take measures such as pouring hot water on the ground or running a heater to keep warm.

3. Can fish be kept in a hydroponic peace lily?

Fish can be kept in a hydroponic peace lily, but it is best to choose a larger bottle for keeping them, which is good for the fish’s survival.

The specific steps are as follows:

First take a small soil-grown peace lily, remove the soil and wash it clean. Soak its roots in a 0.5% potassium permanganate solution for 2 hours, then rinse thoroughly with cooled boiled water. Trim the white roots into a nice spherical shape, place them in a fixing basket, then put it into a tall glass bottle filled with clean water, and place a fish about two centimeters long in the glass bottle, with a red koi being the best choice.