What to Do With Your Peace Lily in July – 5 Things to Encourage More Blooms and Even Glossier Foliage

Summer is such an exciting time in the indoor garden, with houseplants looking bright and having lots of new growth. But, without careful maintenance, the hotter room temperatures and humid air can cause problems. This is especially true for sensitive plants like the peace lily.

If you grow a peace lily in your home, then July calls for some close attention. Spring flower spikes may be fading, so some light pruning is needed to encourage reblooming later in the season. Likewise, regular watering and fertilizing will help encourage glossy foliage and new flowers (especially if you use a specific peace lily fertilizer, like this from Amazon). It's also important to check for pests this month, as they thrive in warmer conditions.

Really, this month is all about rejuvenating your peace lily after tiring spring blooming and encouraging it to flower again. Here, with insights from plant experts, I talk through exactly what to do with a peace lily in July with seven key tasks to tick off.

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1. Remove Spent Flowers

Peace lilies tend to bloom once or twice a year, with spring being the main flowering period. This means by the time July comes around, it's typical for flower spikes to be fading.

If you want to get your peace lily to rebloom in late summer or fall, you need to remove faded flower spikes. Leaving them attached drains energy from the plant.

'As flowers fade, prune your peace lily by cutting the spent blooms off at the base. This tells the plant to redirect its energy toward producing new flowers rather than holding onto fading ones,' describes Plantum plant expert Marina Prokaten.

'If any older leaves are yellowing, trim those off too. This keeps the plant looking nice and removes foliage that's no longer needed,' she explains.

You should use clean and sharp pruning tools for this, like these Fiskars micro snips from Amazon.

Marina Prokaten

Marina Prokaten is a resident plant expert for the Plantum app, which helps users identify plant species, diagnose their conditions, and get specific care advice. She has three years of experience consulting on botany-related topics for Plantum.

2. Fertilize Your Peace Lily

With peace lilies actively growing in spring and summer, it's the perfect time to fertilize your peace lily and give it a boost of essential plant nutrients to support new growth and encourage new blooms.

'If the peace lily is actively growing, a light feeding can help. I prefer a balanced houseplant fertilizer at half strength about once every four to six weeks during spring and summer,' says houseplant expert Rosalin Ortega.

As Rosalin notes, you can use a balanced houseplant feed (like this Miracle Gro one from Walmart), or you can use a specific peace lily fertilizer (like this one from Amazon) which is a special blend to encourage blooming.

You can also try a DIY to make your own peace lily fertilizer, which can provide a gentler feed.

'The key is not to overfertilize, because peace lilies can be sensitive and too much fertilizer may cause brown tips or salt build-up in the soil,' Rosalin warns.

As we progress into mid-late summer, you should reduce fertilizing frequency for this reason.

Rosalin Ortega

Rosalin Ortega is the founder of All About Planties, an online houseplant shop helping beginners choose plants they can actually keep alive. She shares practical, real-world guidance on indoor plant care

3. Water Your Peace Lily Deeply

One of the most important parts of summer houseplant care is getting watering right. As temperatures rise, houseplant soil dries out more quickly and plants become susceptible to drought.

'In July, watering usually becomes more important because warmer temperatures and longer days make the soil dry faster,' Rosalin says.

'Peace lilies like evenly moist soil, but not soggy soil. I suggest watering your peace lily when the top inch of soil feels dry. If the peace lily starts to droop, that is often its way of asking for water, but ideally you do not want to wait until it collapses every time,' she adds.

I suggest using a soil moisture meter (I use this one from Amazon) to check your peace lily's soil a couple times a week during heatwaves. This will allow you to identify when your plant needs watering in such hot temperatures.

A handy tool to use during hot weather is a houseplant irrigation system. This digital houseplant irrigation kit from Amazon actually automatically waters plants when it identifies dry soil. This ensures roots stay consistently hydrated, ideal for plants like peace lilies.

4. Avoid Direct Sun

Peace lilies are native to tropical rainforests in Central and South America, where they grow in dappled light under tree canopies. While bright, indirect light is essential to encourage healthy growth, intense afternoon sun in summer can cause leaf scorch.

'July sunlight can be intense enough to scorch the leaves, turning peace lily leaves brown. If the plant has been sitting on a sunny windowsill all spring, move it back a few feet or filter the light with a sheer curtain,' Marina advises.

Something as simple as this Wayfair sheer curtain can effectively filter intense sunlight to protect your peace lily's sensitive foliage.

Take care not to move it to a super dark spot, however, as this will slow down growth and make reblooming less likely.

Because peace lilies enjoy extra humidity (50-70%), a bright bathroom can be an ideal home for them.

5. Check for Pests

Houseplant pests thrive in summer with warm conditions and consistently wet soil. That's why it's important to check foliage regularly to catch any pests as soon as you can.

'July is a smart time to check for common pests like spider mites, mealybugs, and fungus gnats. I like to inspect the undersides of leaves, look closely at new growth, and check whether the soil is staying wet for too long,' Rosalin describes.

'Cleaning houseplant leaves also makes it easier to catch early problems,' she adds.

You can use microfiber cloths from Walmart to gently wipe leaves, or houseplant dusting gloves (like these from Amazon).

'Spider mites love low humidity and can spread quickly on a stressed plant. If you notice fine webbing or tiny dusty specks, wipe the leaves with a damp cloth or give the plant a gentle shower. The earlier you catch them, the easier they are to deal with,' Marina says.

Regularly misting your peace lily with this houseplant mister from Walmart can also raise humidity and make plants less inhabitable to pests. To take it a step further, install a humidifier (like this from Amazon).

What to Shop

As well as keeping on top of summer care for your peace lily, you can support its health by placing it in the right spot. Somewhere bright and humid is a good spot, but take care to avoid the places to never grow a peace lily, including on a scorching south-facing windowsill and in the path of a cold AC draft.

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