Hi bmobile,

You'll want the plant to be somewhat snug in it's pot with about an inch between the root-ball and inside of the pot. If the pot is too large, the roots will unfortunately rot.

This is a semi low to med light plant (does better in med) that does not like direct hot sun. It does best in bright indirect, a little morning sun is ok, or dapple sunlight. otherwise, the leaves can burn to a crisp.

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(Typically, I give it three cup fulls of water each evening after the sun goes down)
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That's way too much water! Peace lilies like "semi moist soil" at all times, never soggy wet all the time, or eventually the roots will rot.
Let the top inch or two start to feel close to dry, but not dried out. I use the finger test for that.

When the soils getting too much on the dry side, the leaves will start to look a little soft and droopy when it needs water, (actually, that's a little past needing water) but you don't want to let it get like that all the time, or some of the roots could die. After a while, you should get a feel for when it really needs water.
Water it thoroughly one time until you see the water draining out the bottom, after a few minutes, empty any excess in the saucer so the plants not sitting in water.
Ck the soil every 5 to 7 days after that. If it still feels moist enough, wait a couple more days and ck again.

Billy Rae

Hi B...Well, you asked if you're treating the PL right..
Honestly, if you said the plant was doing poorly, I'd say follow Billy Rae's advice to the T.

Since your plant has grown, almost doubling in size, sounds like you're doing the right thing..LOL..but if you recently got this plant, and asked for care instructions, I'd give the same advice Billy did. (S)

I'd also add to Billy's comments, plants are best watered in the morning/early afternoon..when soil feels dry, then water heartily, until water seeps out of drainage holes..rewater only when soil is once again semi-dry.

BTW, how long have you had the PL? Being outside may be the reason the plant is adapting to its current care, but once you bring indoors during winter months, I'd follow Billy's instructions. Otherwise, the PL may die.
Plants shouldn't be watered daily, B. (other than bonsai)
And if you want it to bloom it really should be planted in a semi-smug pot. Good luck, Toni

Since the Spath is outside, in the Southern US and getting some direct sun, daily watering is likely appropriate. I can't imagine a Spath not burning with direct outdoor sun though....

I have to water many of my plants daily in my greenhouse that I did not water nearly that much when they were in the house. They get much more light and heat out there.

The reason I was watering it so much is because it got so brutally hot this summer. It's been moved inside for the winter, and I'm not watering near as much right now.
Before I could bring it in, I had to cut it back quite a lot so it would fit through the door, and so there was a place for it to be parked.
The reason it's in such a big pot is one, to give it stability. Before I re-potted it, all you had to do was breathe on it and it would fall over LOL. The second reason is to at least make it hard for some one without any help, to steal the plant. Sure, they could just take it out of the pot, but most goofballs aren't that smart.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:100602}}

When deciding how much or how often to water, you need to take into consideration many things aside from the volume of water applied or the frequency of watering. How good can my advice be, or any one else's for that matter, w/o having knowledge and a good understanding of the 4-way relationship between plant mass, soil composition, container size, and cultural conditions?

In a pot that's 2 feet deep, and using an inappropriate soil, the bottom 6-10 inches of soil could easily be completely saturated and devoid of air - uninhabitable by roots, while the top inch or two could feel completely dry to the touch. Also, when soil feels dry to you, at about 45% moisture content, the plant can still extract moisture from bark and peat products until the moisture content drops down below about 30%. So, if your planting is established, you want to water when moisture content in soils at the bottom of the container are somewhere between 35-50% moisture content. You needn't care care how dry the soil at the top of the container is, you want to know how wet the soil at the bottom of the container is.

You can tell when the soil is between 35-50% moisture content by sharpening a 1/4 inch wood dowel & pushing it through the soil to the bottom. If it comes out wet & cool - no need to water. When it first comes out feeling dry (if you're checking daily) it means the moisture content has just dropped below about 45% and it's an ideal time to water, even though you could probably wait another day in most cases. You can also tell by stuffing a piece of rag into the drain hole, w/o allowing it to impede drainage. when it feels dry - it's time to water.

Best of all, is to insert a wick into the drain hole so it goes up into the soil a couple of inches. If you set the pot up on blocks and leave the wick dangle below the pot bottom, but not so low it contacts the water in the collection saucer, you can use the wick to test for need to water. If dry - water, if moist - don't. There is also a big advantage to using a wick in this fashion. It literally "tricks" the water into "thinking" that the pot is deeper than it is. As the water moves down the wick and drips off the end, it actually "pulls" water from the saturated layer of soil at the bottom of the container that would never drain otherwise, causing air to take the place of the water & improving the likelihood of good root function and health.

Some plants may require water daily, but that's something for you to determine based on the 4-way relationship mentioned above, not by me or anyone else. Like BOS888, I have many plants that require water daily and a few I need to water in the evening and before I go to work each day.

Al

Hi
Had to add my two cents here .lol I grow these as yard plants in, the shadehouse and in a paludarium as well as a marsh garden. Everything from moist to running water. With and without soil. The paludarium one is a dwarf form that has been growing in flowing water since 01. The only problem has been that it grows so vigorously that it lifts the lights lol. The others grow equally as well. Those in the the marsh garden are downright invasive.
Only thing I've found they will not tolerate is direct sun and being dry. and will tolerate right down to freezing temps. Might mention also that the ones growing in the yard are directly in the sand we call soil .
Sounds like you have a hybrid probably "Moanna Loa" ?? Since it's so large. There are at least a half dozen members to this family but I can't tell one from the other. I suspect that's a man made type??
I'd suggest that you withhold water until you see a slight wilt. heck let it completely collapse it will bounce right back lol. Note how long this took and will give you a good idea of frequency of watering. Direct moring sun while not necessary may induce heavier flowering come spring. Sounds like you're doing well already !!! gary