bring a peace to your pad!! (Peace Lily)

Member Name: pania22

Product:	Peace Lily
Date:	23/08/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: beautiful, serene plants, gorgeous to look at and cleanses the air

Disadvantages: price varies dramatically, dont be caught out!!! toxic if children or animals get hold of plant sap

Peace lillies, or spathipyllum to give them their much less attractive name, first came into my life when I visited New Zealand for the first time.
These plants grow in NZ with pretty much uncontrolled abandon, the southern hemisphere bluebell equivalent if you would, on a larger, much much larger scale. The plants themselves have very deep green flat leaves that are typically up to 15" long. The white flowers stand on a very long thin deep green stalk well clear of the leaves and are oval shaped with the stamen standing infront of the single petal. A truly breathtaking sight in their natural habitat.

My love for these plants came about as a result of a combination of their name, the gorgeous white flower and the happy memories of a gorgeous country that they invoke in me.

The name "Peace Lily" arises from the white almost flag like flowers that the plant bears that stand above the parapet of leaves. This is very much like a white flag of truce being waved, hence the "peace" element of the name.
Just recently I have suffered the loss of 4 very close friends and family over a 2 month time period. Heading home from the funeral of my close friend on
friday I was trying to think of a memorial to them all that I could have close to me that would remind me of my lovely people. I stopped at a services on my way home and in the foyer was a large table full of white potted peace lillies. It was almost as if someone had been reading my thoughts and put them there as an answer to my ponderings. I had been considering budget too and was concerned that I couldn't afford much. All these reasonable sized plants were on offer for £3.99 with a lovely white china pot. Another answer to the question!!

I spent my time choosing one and it now has pride of place in my room, surrounded by photos of my family and friends, including those recently lost. It truly makes a lovely memorial.

The price that I paid really reflects the need to shop around when purchasing one of these beautiful plants, or any plant to be honest. Garden centres generally have over inflated prices whilst supermarkets and market stalls hold the cheapest, but oddly, the healthiest plants. A delivery service on the net currently has plants for sale for £14.99!!! and i'd love to see the size of the plant that is delivered to!

Peace lillies are very easy plants to keep provided that they are kept clean with dusted leaves and well watered, typically when the soil is just dry to the touch. In the wild the peace lilly much prefers a shadowy humid atmosphere away from direct sunlight, generally in the foothills of mountains and edges of woods. Therefore lily would thank you for a position away from the windowsill! the plants flower once every 4 to 12 months, there is nothing you can do to influence how long it is so if it appears that your lily is defunct, be patient with it and you will see the benefits.

I love these plants, Just saying the name invokes a feeling of, well, peace in me I guess. They are a delight to have around the house and very handy in the homes of smokers, absorbing harmful chemicals such as formaldehyde from the air. Just be a bit careful if you have children or animals around. As is common for many plants of the lily variety the sap is poisonous. Therefore if a plant breaks and a child or animal gets to the sap it can have a toxic effect on them. so minus one star for that Miss Lily i'm afraid, but personally, I would award the full 5 . ;o)

Summary: a gorgeous plant to have around, and a lovely fitting memorial to my 4 lovely people