By Meryl
A friend with a foliage-rich studio space once told us her trick to looking like she knew how to take care of plants: when one plant dies, buy another. While a brilliant and most likely universal strategy of denial, it made us reminisce on plants we’ve lost, including a peace lily (pictured) that bloomed a total of once and had leaves that grew limper despite varying watering, feeding and placement techniques. We’ll discuss the five-year-old African violet in a future post. (Briefly, it froze after a few 
hours next to a window opened after a burned toast incident during a Windy City winter.)
So that everyone can avoid future peace lily-related mishaps or replacement situations, we'd like to share a few tips for keeping them alive. Though it is an indoor plant known for hardiness in dark, indoor conditions—which is probably why the guy at the nursery assumed we couldn’t kill it—the peace lily, in its natural setting, grows under the deep shade of the rain forest canopy and normally grows copious, deep-green foliage which sprout white blossoms. Water, humidity and shade—all elements of life on the rain forest floor—are keys to its care.
1. Water peace lilies regularly. Drooping foliage means they need more (room-temp) water. Peace lilies also suffer from over-watering, so wait until the soil dries out or watch the foliage for just a slight droop before watering.
2. During summer months, if foliage begins to droop late in the day—and its not a water issue—move your peace lily to a cooler, more shaded area. They do best when about eight feet from a window, far from direct sunlight, which damages their leaves.
3. Regularly wipe leaves with a damp sponge to remove dust.
4. Mist leaves a couple of times a week to add humidity.
5. Feed once a month when growing. Use a houseplant fertilizer but cut the recommended dilution to a quarter. Peace lilies have delicate root hairs that may be burned with strong fertilizer.
6. Repot every couple of years with a rich soil of loam, peat moss and sand.