Peace lilies will burst with blooms if 1 cup of scrap kitchen staple poured once a month

With the UK well into the warm and fuzzy throes of spring, gardening enthusiasts are actively undertaking jobs that will give them the best blooms.

One such plant which flowers and thrives between spring and autumn is the beloved peace lily, yet it’s important to provide it with care that is exactly suited to its needs.

Many green thumbers are sure to have faced the situation where their peace lily plants are sitting lush and verdant on their window sills, yet they somehow refuse to produce those elusive dreamy white blooms.

So, what can you do to get your beloved peace lilies to bloom this spring? There’s one natural home remedy that has been known to work wonders on flowerless peace lilies.

Many gardeners prefer to avoid using harsh chemicals on their house plants, opting instead for natural hacks and tricks which aren’t too harmful to the plant or the environment.

One such home remedy natural hack that’s been widely praised for its results on flowerless peace lilies is watering the plant with a cup of raw rice water once a month.

The reason why rice water is considered to be a top-tier natural fertiliser for peace lilies is because it contains small quantities of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus — three nutrients that are essential for houseplants to boost their flower production, increase foliage growth, and aid in their root development.

It’s also loaded with zinc, iron and sulphur — all plant boosters when fed to the soil in correct amounts.

It’s important to ensure the raw rice water solution remains free from oil, salt, or seasoning of any kind, as that can prove detrimental and harmful to the peace lily’s growth.

That’s not all. Rice water also contains small amounts of minerals like magnesium and B vitamins, which support the energy production of the plant, resulting in bigger and better blooms, especially in peace lilies.

How to use rice water to make peace lilies bloom

All you have to do is add cold water from the tap to a cup of rice and wash your rice with it (you can use your hands or swirl the rice with a spoon). You will immediately see the water turn cloudy, and that’s where the magic happens.

Once your rice is cleaned, pour the leftover kitchen staple solution into a cup or container, and use it to water your peace lilies once a month. If the solution seems too potent, you can always add in some fresh water to dilute the mix. Remember to not store your raw rice water for long periods of time.

Tishana, gardener and founder of Coco and Seed, shares: “After you wash your rice, the water that is left back contains starches and minerals. The minerals contain trace macronutrients of NPK, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium that help your plants grow.”

It seems peace lilies love rice, because there’s another rice-related hack that makes “so many flowers explode” on these easy-to-care houseplants.

On the popular YouTube channel Plant Tips, a gardening and houseplant specialist shared how rice flour mixed with water can result in stunning blooms on peace lilies.

The expert shared: “Amazing result, grow peace lily with one cup of rice flour, so many flowers explode.”

For this hack, one cup of rice flour should be mixed in with water till the consistency is that of a thin mixture. This mix can then be used to cleanse the leaves of your peace lily plants, and once that’s done, the leftover mixture can be poured into the plant’s soil.

Once again, it’s imperative to use this natural home remedy only once a month, as doing it too often can be extremely detrimental to your plant’s growth and wellbeing.

The Plant Tips expert could be seen hydrating their peace lily with the rice flour solution, even putting it into a spray bottle and using that to mist the surface of the plant. Three months later, the expert revealed the ‘after’ scenario, and the peace lily was bursting with blooms and looked healthier and more robust than the ‘before’ footage shared previously in the video.

In both these rice-based hacks, it’s crucial to use the natural fertiliser sparingly, not more than once a month, and when not using rice water, regular tap water or rainwater should be fed to your beloved peace lily plant.