Peace Lily: The best ways to keep you plants looking good
Peace lilies are so mesmerising that it may come as a surprise that they are rugged houseplants that tolerate a variety of light conditions, including semi-darkness.
Peace lilies can even survive a certain amount of neglect from busy or forgetful indoor gardeners.
However, those who want to get the most out of this stunning plant should aim to fertilise it now and again.
Taking to the Creative Gardening group on Facebook, Gail Nacoste claimed that banana peels are the reason for her healthy-looking peace lily with “big flowers”.
Posting a picture of her thriving houseplants, She wrote: “I have been watering my peace lily with banana peel water.
READ MORE: Orchids start ‘flowering like crazy’ with gardener’s ‘fantastic’ suggestion
“It has been flowering like crazy with big flowers and growing faster. I have also been watering my other plants with banana water. All are going great.”
Bananas contain a ton of potassium, which is one-third of fertiliser (along with nitrogen and phosphorus).
Potassium helps plants move nutrients and water between their cells. It is especially helpful for plants that flower – like peace lilies.
They also contain small amounts of manganese, calcium, magnesium and sulphur, all of which plants enjoy.
Gail then explained how she goes about making the banana peel water. She said: “You put the banana peel in a jar of water with the lid on top and leave it in the water overnight or a couple of days.
Don’t miss…
Peace lilies look unhappy if damaging mistake is made – takes 30 seconds to fix[COMMENT]
Gardener’s ‘essential techniques’ to prune Japanese maples for ‘best results’[TIPS]
Persistent ivy plants will die with garden expert’s three most effective methods[EXPERT]
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
“The water will look cloudy then I put the liquid in a jug to use later. Make sure you cover the peel completely with water.
“I use quart mason jars with a lid to soak my peels. When I use the banana water I do add some more water to it about three parts banana water to one part plain water.
“I also save the water in a jug. We both eat a banana a day so I have a lot of water to save. I water once a week or more often if needed.”
The post was inundated with responses and received 23,300 likes and over 4,000 shares.
Fellow group members were in awe of this tip and many had either tested this out or were planting to. Beverly McGovern said: “Wow. I’ve never heard of that. I have one. Now I’m going to try that.”
Sandra Copson wrote: “I just started using banana water too! So glad to see you used it in your peace lily. I’m going do that too.”
Christine Holden replied: “My husband made what he calls banana soup we had the best show of blooms on ours this year. It’s brilliant and practically free.”
Kathy Davis commented: “It works. My mother-in-law, who lived to 100 and had never used Google, swore by placing banana peel at the base of the plant to enhance growth and flowering. It’s the potassium.”
Bananas are a staple fruit in most households and they are very cheap to buy. A pack of six can be picked up from Tesco for 75p. this works out as 13p per banana.
However, it can be argued that banana peel is not a full replacement for fertiliser as they do not contain nitrogen.
While fertiliser is good for peace lilies, owners need to avoid overfeeding as too much fertiliser may create brown spots on the leaves. If the flowers are a little green instead of creamy white, gardeners are probably overdoing the fertiliser. Either cut back or dilute the concentration.
Source: Read Full Article