Peace Lilies, botanically known as Spathiphyllum, are popular houseplants that produce glossy green lance-shaped foliage and contrasting elegant white flowers.
There are a total of 47 different varieties of Peace Lily, and amongst these, there are types that diverge slightly from the typical colorations. Here we look at the different colors Peace Lilies are available in and how you can get the best color from your Peace Lily houseplant.
Table of Contents
Peace Lily Foliage Colors
Dark Green
The leaf color most people will envision when they think of a Peace Lily is dark green. This is because the classic Peace Lily has dark green leaves, and many of the other varieties of Peace Lily also have this foliage color. Amongst different types of Peace Lilies, the shade of dark green can vary from dark blue-green to deep forest green.
Lime Green
If you want a brighter pop of color from a Peace Lily, then look out for the ‘Mojo Lime Peace Lily’, which produces vibrant lime green colored foliage. The leaves are deeply veined, which creates a ribbed effect. Lime green is not a common foliage color for Peace Lily plants, and you may need to seek out a specialist nursery to get your hands on one of these varieties.
The Mojo Lime Peace Lily is medium in size, growing to a typical height of between 2 and 4 feet. It produces the classic white Peace Lily flowers, and you can expect to care for it in the same way as other Peace Lilies.
Silver
The Platinum Mist Peace Lily produces silver foliage which fades out into green at the tips of each leaf. This is a stunning variety of Peace Lily whose leaves are large and showy, and they also feature a sheen of silver speckles which creates the illusion that the plant has just been misted.
This variety of Peace Lily can grow to heights of around 6 feet in its native habitat, but when kept as a houseplant, it is more likely to not exceed 2 feet in height.
Cream
Variegated varieties of Peace Lily will commonly feature areas of cream or white on their leaves. While there are no Peace Lilies with entirely cream leaves, heavily variegated types such as the Picasso Peace Lily and the White Stripe Peace Lily can feature large splashes of cream, which give them a striking and unusual look.
Peace Lilies are known for their ability to withstand low levels of light, however if you have a variegated Peace Lily with lots of cream areas on the foliage, then the plant will need bright indirect light to thrive. This is because only the green parts of the foliage are able to photosynthesize, and therefore a higher degree of natural light is necessary to allow for this.
Pale Green
There are several variegated varieties of Peace Lily that feature pale green portions on their foliage, such as the Picasso Peace Lily. Another variegated Peace Lily is the Domino Peace Lily which has a huge amount of tiny flecks of cream and pale green on the leaves. From a distance, this can make the entire leaves appear to be pale green, as the colors can seem to blend into each other.
Peace Lily Flower Colors
Before we think about the colors of Peace Lily flowers, it’s important to understand what the flowers on this plant actually are. Peace Lilies produce blooms in the form of an elegant white hood that surrounds an erect yellow or cream component. While most people expect that the white hood is a petal and, therefore, part of the flower, this is incorrect.
The flowers are actually the tiny yellow or cream spikes that surround the erect stem. The white portion of the bloom is actually called a spathe, and this is a type of modified leaf. Here we will look at the colors you can find the Peace Lily blooming in, including both the true flowers themselves and the spathes or modified leaves.
White
The spathe, or modified leaf, is most commonly white on a Peace Lily. Some varieties of Peace Lily will have a spathe that is slightly off-white and closer to ivory, but they are not found in bright colors. This gives the Peace Lily a classic look and means that the flowers provide a heavy contrast against the dark green foliage.
The botanical name for the Peace Lily is Spathiphyllum, which is derived from the word ‘spathe’, so we can see from this that the plant is named after its blooms. The more common name of Peace Lily is also a reference to the blooms of the plant. It is said that the white spathes surrounding the flowers look like white sails, or white flags, which are synonymous with peace, surrender, or a truce. This led to the popular name Peace Lily.
Cream and Yellow
The true flowers on the Peace Lily are the small lumps or spikes you will notice on the erect portion of the bloom, which appears to emerge from inside the white hooded spathe.
These can vary in color from bright yellow through to a pale buttery cream shade.
Pale Green
The white spathe on a Peace Lily can sometimes appear to be a shade of pale green. This could be a part of the plant’s natural growth, or it can signify problems with the plant’s care.
When your Peace Lily is healthy and strong, the spathes at their peak should be bright white or a faded ivory color.
Should Peace Lily Flowers Turn Green?
The white spathe on a Peace Lily, which is commonly regarded as the flower, can sometimes turn green. On many types of Peace Lily, when the spathe first emerges, it will be white with a subtle green tint, and as it opens out into its full glory, it will take on a pristine white or sultry cream color.
Once the flower is spent and the spathe begins to fade, it may turn to a pale green color once again, before turning brown and falling from the plant. If this sounds like your Peace Lily, then there is nothing to worry about and the green color is an entirely natural part of the plant’s development.
However, if the white spathe turns green in the middle of blooming, or if it never develops to a strong white or ivory color, then this indicates an issue with the plant.
How to Fix Green Peace Lily Flowers
Alter Lighting
Green flowers can be a result of too little light. While Peace Lilies can tolerate low light, they don’t bloom as well in these conditions. If your Peace Lily has been kept in a shaded spot, move the plant to a position where it will receive at least a few hours of bright indirect light each day.
This should help the flowers it produces to take on their natural white color, and it should also encourage the plant to bloom more frequently.
Alter Fertilizer
If the spathes of a Peace Lily remain green and don’t transform to the typical white color, this could be an indication of too much fertilizer or the wrong type of fertilizer. If you have been using fertilizer frequently, or you haven’t been diluting your fertilizer, then it is likely that this is the cause of the green flowers.
If your fertilizer has a high nitrogen content, then this can turn the spathes green. Fix this by switching to a fertilizer that is lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphorus, as this is the nutrient that plants need to produce healthy flowers. If your fertilizer isn’t heavy in nitrogen, dilute the concentration of the fertilizer further, and fertilize much less frequently and see if this enables your flowers to turn white.
