Can i grow lily of the valley from seed

The cultivar produces masses of flowers and foliage, making it a great natural ground cover option. Native cultivars are often easier to grow than more exotic varieties because they are better suited to your growing conditions. They are also more resistant to local pests and diseases. Finally, the Rosea cultivar produces attractive pale pink flowers. Despite its attractive flowers, the plant is not as fragrant or as vigorous as the convallaria majalis cultivar.

Take the time to explore all the different varieties of lily of the valley. Try to find a cultivar, or a few cultivars that appeal to you and suit your growing conditions. An easy going plant, lily of the valley does best in a partial shade position. The soil should be evenly moist. With a little extra care lily of the valley wcan be encouraged to thrive in full sun, shade and dry positions. Make sure your chosen site has enough room to accommodate the plants.

They can achieve a growth of about 1 ft in height. Working well in forest planting schemes, these are resilient plants that can thrive in a range of conditions with the right care. You can plant lily of the valley at any time of the year. However, it is best to plant either in early spring, from mid March until mid April, or in the early fall, from late September until October.

These plants require exposure to cool winter temperatures in order to become dormant. This dormant period is vital if you want the bulb to reflower the following year.

While these are versatile plants, they do like well draining soil. Planting in heavy soil, or soil that is slow to drain water away, can cause the bulbs to rot. A soil testing kit tells you the makeup of your soil. This information can be used to quickly amend any potential problems before they affect the health of your plants. Before planting dig the soil over well.

Work in organic matter such as compost. Ground bark, well-rotted manure or peat moss can also be worked in to improve drainage. Soak the roots in lukewarm water for about half an hour before planting. This helps the plants to establish themselves. As you soak the roots you will notice the pips beginning to swell and harden as they take on water. Before planting cut away about an inch of root. Like soaking, this helps to activate the roots and kick starts the growing process.

Plant in rich, well worked soil. If you are planting more than one lily of the valley, be sure to correctly space the plants. This enables air to circulate and helps to keep your flowers healthy and problem free. The plant should comfortably fit inside the hole. Position your plant in the hole, it should sit level or slightly above soil level.

Plant to roughly the same depth as when the plant was in its container. When you are happy with the position of the plant, backfill the hole and water well. New growth is usually quick to emerge, often within a week in warm conditions. If you are planting more than one plant, try to space them at least 4 inches apart. This gives the plants room to grow without the danger of overcrowding. Lily of the valley is perfectly suited to growing in containers or planters.

Your chosen container should be clean and have drainage holes in the bottom. This means planting in a deeper pot than you would for other bulbs. Lily of the valley likes the soil to be kept evenly moist.

This can be difficult during the warm summer months. Planting in a self-watering container is an easy way to make sure plants stay hydrated. Fill the pot or planter with fresh, well-draining potting soil. Like planting in the ground, soaking the pips before planting and cutting the lower inch of the root away from the plant helps to stimulate growth. Plant as you would in a flower bed and water well. Lily of the valley is a pleasingly resilient plant. This means that you can transplant it with little worry.

Transplanting is best done in the fall, when the plant is dormant. However, despite its delicate appearance, this is a robust plant that can survive transplanting at any time of year. Just remember to give it lots of water. To transplant use a trowel or shovel to dig a deep circle 6 to 8 inches wide around the plant. Once you have encircled the plant a few times, carefully lift it from its position. Prepare the new site by digging over the soil and working in organic matter such as compost.

Dig a hole large enough to comfortably hold the root system of the plant. Each bloom consists of six white most common or pink tepals. The flowers are extremely fragrant and are used in perfumes and potpourri. As previously mentioned, these flowers can produce red berries with seeds if conditions are right. Lily of the valley typically flowers in early to mid spring for three or four weeks — which is significantly longer than most other spring perennials. In colder climates their bloom time may start later and extend into early summer.

This fragrant woodland perennial can also be used as a houseplant and be forced into blooming anytime of the year. I spotted my first lily of the valley adjacent to a low, wet, and swampy patch in the forest. This is one of those garden additions that grows like wild, but only when the right conditions are met. Lily of the valley really digs its time in the shade. I think it does the best when it gets some morning light, maybe a few hours worth, and gets to kick back in the cool shade from about 10 a.

Although it can handle more sun, in exchange, it needs much more water to perform. As the season carries on and we are bombarded with summer sun, expect to see your C. This is a natural and expected phase for the plant. This plant is a fan of plenty of water and good drainage. This was, I think, the primary failing of my own chunk of C. The front yard outside of my house is very dry and seemingly impossible to keep wet with a hose. I started using a soaker hose near the high point of summer and it worked well; just keep in mind that the longer your run of hose is, the weaker the pressure is going to be.

Try to keep your hose length at 25 feet or so. I purchased this product, available from Amazon , and have no complaints. I run a length of 20 foot hose from the spigot to the soaker hose and it works wonderfully.

A yearly addition of rich, organic compost is ideal for fueling C. Apply a nice layer of mulch, maybe 1 to 2 inches in depth, and let it break down naturally to supplement the soil around your lily of the valley. Simultaneously a pro and con of planting lily of the valley is its desire to spread out and grow.

This can be an attractive method to control erosion. This is an appealing choice because it guarantees a thick, healthy covering of C. My method of choice is to allow lily of the valley to grow freely, then divide out the chunks I find undesirable in the early winter. November or December is ideal for doing this, but early spring works too.

It responds well to being divided, although it may take a full year before transplanted sections will produce flowers.

Except for a few weevils that may cause minimum cosmetic damage well after C. A shallow plate with a sacrificial beer offering is usually enough to attract and dispose of slugs in most scenarios.

All you need is a willingness to pour out perfectly good beer. The main trouble afflicting lily of the valley is the potential for fungal problems. Most of these issues can be resolved by watering properly — remember to get the soil wet, not the leaves. Bonide Neem Oil, available on Amazon. When problems do arise, they can usually be controlled with trusty neem oil.

The majority of fungal problems involve an unattractive looking leaf; it could have yellow halos, a yellow or brown color to the leaf veins, or black and brown spots. Remember, lily of the valley problems are almost entirely relegated to fungal issues, so proper watering practices and careful neem and fungicide treatments will save the day. The only other disease common to this plant is southern blight. You can identify this major infection by the mustard-colored ball-shaped structures that it leaves at the base of the plant.

Unfortunately, the only solution here is to remove and destroy the plant entirely, to prevent it from spreading. Lily of the valley is often available in the spring at garden centers, usually sold in groups of pips or crowns. Packages of 4 live plants or 10 pips are available from Burpee.

It has larger blooms, and sturdy, taller stems that max out at about 8 inches tall. Crowns in packages of 3 are available from Burpee.

Packages of 3 crowns each are available from Burpee. Not every garden has room for C. Or, for an annual option, consider the striking torenia to complement those soft white stalks of flowers. Let us know how lily of the valley is working in your garden, and share your advice and anecdotes in our comments section below! And for even more on adding beautiful spring color and fragrance to your garden, you can check out some of our other flower growing guides such as:.

Product photos via Swan, Bonide, and Burpee. Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. Matt Suwak was reared by the bear and the bobcat and the coyote of rural Pennsylvania. This upbringing keeps him permanently affixed to the outdoors where most of his personal time is invested in gardening, bird watching, and hiking.

Lily of the valley is most easily recognized by its single stem of bell-like, white or pink flowers and pair of tall leaves. Growing lily of the valley from seeds is possible but can be problematic. If you can protect the seeds from hungry wildlife until they are fully formed, you still have to remove the fruit of the berry from the seeds. The berries are quite toxic; be careful when handling them. If purchasing seeds from someone, be sure to cold stratify them in the fridge before planting. Unfortunately, they are generally not known as good germinators and can take as much as a year to grow into a healthy plant.

Plant the seeds immediately after harvesting or after cold stratification about 6 inches deep. Beware of Photoshopped pictures of flower species that do not exist. Many seeds sold as lily of the valley are proving to be for significantly cheaper plants like grass or clover.

Rhizomes or pips from an existing colony of plants should be harvested and transplanted in August or September, depending upon your climate. The goal is to transplant after the growing season but before the ground freezes. If you have purchased pips from your local garden center or online, soak them for a few hours in temperature neutral water — not really cold or warm, around room temperature.

Trimming off a little of the bottom of the roots can also help stimulate growth. Lily of the Valley can be potted. This pot has been growing for several years and thriving. Position the pips in an upright position with some of the dried foilage is poking through the soil.

After blooming, plants can be moved into a shady spot in the garden.