Peace lilies (Spathiphyllum spp.) are tropical evergreen herbaceous perennials popular as houseplants for their low-maintenance care requirements, attractive foliage, and gorgeous white flower-like spathes.
Many people end up with a peace lily they’ve inherited or picked one up as an impulse purchase at the grocery store and since they are so easy to grow, at some point the plant outgrows its container.
If you have a peace lily that is outgrowing its current home, you have a couple of options.
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You could buy a bigger container and repot your peace lily. But eventually, you’re going to run out of space if you keep buying bigger and bigger pots.
Another option is to divide your plant, so instead of one large specimen, you’ll have two or more smaller ones.
This keeps the original plant at a manageable size in the same container, and provides you with extra plants to share.
Division is a propagation method that works well with peace lilies and gives you the opportunity to pay one forward to a friend or offer up one or two sections at your local houseplant swap.
If you’re excited to start the process, here’s what we’ll go over in this guide:
How to Propagate Peace Lilies by Division
Before we get started, if you need a refresher about how to grow peace lilies, check out our guide.
As they say, timing is everything. So that seems like a good place to start:
When to Divide Peace Lilies
Spring is the best time to divide your plant, whether you’re growing your peace lily indoors or out.
This is the beginning of the growing season, and the plant will put on new growth quickly and the divisions bounce back easily. Fall works, too, so that’s a good second option.
The worst time to divide your plant is during the summer. For those grown indoors, winter isn’t ideal, but it can be done. If your peace lily is currently in bloom, avoid dividing it unless absolutely necessary.
All of that said, the truth is you can divide your peace lily during the summer and winter, and it will most likely be fine, they’re pretty resilient.
Signs you will either need to go up a pot size or divide your plant include roots coming out of the drainage holes, failing to bloom, soil drying out too quickly, or the plant simply looking too big for its current home.
It’s a good idea to repot or divide your peace lily every few years to refresh the potting medium.
Preparation
Before you can do the actual work, a little preparation is in order.
You’ll need a pair of pruners or scissors and maybe a shovel or trowel. You also need new containers for the divisions – unless you’re growing them in the ground.
Wash your tools in hot, soapy water or wipe them with isopropyl alcohol. You should also clean any pots you plan to use.
Water the soil of your peace lily thoroughly, 24 hours before dividing your specimen. This ensures that the plant is hydrated and the roots are nice and plump.
Do any pruning you need to do to remove dead, damaged, or diseased leaves before you start, too.
Ready? Great!
Dividing
Since they tend to produce stems in clusters, you can divide a peace lily in half, or you can create several small sections depending on the size of your plant.
You can separate any section that has a few stems and leaves and plenty of roots attached.
In the case of a potted plant, carefully remove the specimen from the container and brush away the soil so you can clearly see the roots.
At this point you should be able to identify the natural divisions in the root structure, which will make separating the sections easier.
Look for an area where there are several leaves attached to the roots and gently start teasing this area away from the main plant.
As you tease the area apart, you might need to get in there with your clippers and sever any tangled roots or roots that have multiple branches. Don’t worry, these damaged areas will regrow.
For plants in the ground, you need to dig them up before dividing. Take a look at the plant and measure about six inches out from the edge of the stems around the entire perimeter.
Dig down about a foot all the way around and then get the shovel under the plant. Wedge it out of the ground and set it aside carefully.
Brush or knock the soil away from the roots before teasing apart the sections as discussed above.
Replant
When you have divided your plant, you need to repot or replant the original specimen and any divisions you have taken.
If you’re working with outdoor plants, you can place the mother specimen back into its original spot and then dig holes the same size as the root balls of the divisions you need to transplant.
Set the plant in the ground at the same height as it was originally, then backfill with soil before watering in well.
If you divided a potted plant, place the original section back in the pot and fill in around it with potting soil.
Don’t bury it any deeper than it was in the original container or the plant might rot. You may wish to use this opportunity to refresh the potting soil.
For the new divisions, set these in their own individual pots.
Choose containers that allow about an inch of room around the perimeter of the root ball and make sure to keep them at the same depth as they were originally.
Backfill with potting mix as needed, and water in well.
Keep the Peace… Lilies Happy
Some plants don’t mind slightly crowded roots, peace lilies included. They don’t mind being a bit root bound, but that doesn’t mean you should let them completely outgrow their container that there’s barely any soil left.
Dividing your plants alleviates the need to keep increasing the size of the container while also allowing you to propagate your specimen.
What do you plan to do with your divisions? Will you give them away to friends? Or maybe you want to increase your houseplant collection? Share with us in the comments section below.
And if you’re still looking to add some peace lily knowledge to your toolkit, we have a few other guides that you might want to read next:
