How to Repot a Peace Lily in 5 Easy Steps

Published on January 23, 2026

Peace lilies are popular indoor plants with elegant blooms and lush leaves. One important way to keep your plant healthy is to know how to repot a peace lily when it outgrows its container. Repotting into a larger container can speed up your plant's growth by allowing its roots more access to moisture and nutrients. Here’s what you need to know to repot a peace lily successfully.

Peace lilies don’t mind having their roots a bit crowded, but there comes a time when your plant needs a new pot. Peace lilies should be repotted every few years to give them adequate room to grow and to refresh their soil. Here are some signs it’s time to repot your peace lily.

• Roots coming out of the drainage holes in the bottom of the container. Roots start growing out the drainage holes when they have nowhere else to go.
• Roots wrapping around the top of the soil in the pot. This is another sign the plant’s roots are overcrowded and need more room to grow.
• Frequent wilting. This could mean there are more roots than soil in the pot, so the plant wilts more than you'd expect, even shortly after watering it.
• Yellowing leaves. If older peace lily leaves are yellowing, this could mean your plant isn’t able to get enough nutrients from a pot of soil that is too small.
• Stunted growth. Your plant may need a bigger pot if it is not growing new leaves or flowers during the growing season.

Choosing the Right Container

Choose a pot that's about two inches wider in diameter than the peace lily’s current container. If you repot the peace lily into a pot much bigger than this, root rot may become an issue. The larger volume of soil surrounding the plant’s roots will stay moist longer, and the overly wet conditions can lead to root rot.

A pot that’s just two inches wider will ensure a more ideal root to soil volume ratio, helping to avoid too much moisture around the roots. Be sure the new pot has drainage holes in the bottom to allow excess water to run out. A lack of drainage holes also can lead to overly soggy soil and root rot.

Steps for Repotting a Peace Lily

Follow this step-by-step guide to repot your peace lily.

1. Add Fresh Soil to the New Pot

Use a potting mix designed for houseplants and mix in orchid bark or chunky perlite to make it drain better. Place a layer of your mix a few inches thick in bottom of the new pot.

2. Remove the Peace Lily from its Current Pot

Turn the pot on its side and loosen the root ball from the pot's walls by squeezing or tapping the side of the pot a little. If the plant is so root-bound that it’s stuck to the pot, run a butter knife around the interior pot walls to loosen the roots from the pot.

3. Clean and Loosen the Roots

Gently tap or brush as much of the old soil as possible off the root ball. Loosen the roots and inspect them for rot or other damage. Trim off any damaged roots with clean pruning shears or scissors.

4. Place the Peace Lily in the New Pot

Put your peace lily into the new pot and fill in around it with more fresh potting soil. Leave at least an inch between the top of the soil and the rim of the pot to make watering easier. Make sure your plant is set at the same depth it was in its old pot and all the roots are covered.

5. Water the Peace Lily

To minimize transplant shock, water your newly repotted peace lily thoroughly. This also helps settle the potting mix around the roots. Allow excess water to drain away. Then, keep your peace lily on a regular watering schedule that allows the top inch of soil to dry between watering.