Planting lily of the valley: instructions & expert tips

Lily of the valley show their beautiful blossoms early in the year. Find out all there is to know about planting lily of the valley in your own garden or on the balcony.

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) are a great addition to any garden. They flower early in the year from May until June, often just in time for Mother’s Day. Find out all there is to know about planting lily of the valley in this article.

Planting lily of the valley: when and how?

The delicate blossoms of lily of the valley form early in the season and come back every year anew. What is more, these small and innocent-looking early bloomers are extremely low-maintenance when it comes to soil or location.

When is the best time to plant lily of the valley?

Plant lily of the valley rhizomes in autumn or spring in your chosen place. Plant out potted lilies of the valley only after flowering.

Where to plant lily of the valley?

These are the best conditions to grow lilies of the valley in the garden:

• Location: half-shade to shade
• Soil: slightly moist; rich in nutrients; sandy to loamy
• Soil pH: alkaline to slightly acidic

Lily of the valley thrives just as well in shaded areas. However, with too little sunshine, the flowers will not bloom. At the same time, these plants do not tolerate harsh full midday sun. When choosing a location, consider the toxicity of lily of the valley. Best to place it out of reach for children or pets. The white flowers are ideal between groups of trees or to grow as borders in shady garden beds. Especially in combination with other early bloomers such as hyacinth (Hyacinthus) or primrose (Primula), the plants enhance the garden splendidly. What is more, lily of the valley is said to promote the growth of shrubs like witch hazel (Hamamelis), forsythia (Forsythia × intermedia) or lilac (Syringa).

How to plant lily of the valley?

In the garden or pot, these early bloomers sweeten spring with their scent and spread the hopeful message of the approaching summer. When planting lily of the valley, proceed as follows:

• Planting distance: 10 cm (ground cover) – 20 cm
• Planting hole: 10 cm deep
• Mix compost with some soil
• Place rhizomes in the planting hole with the buds facing upwards
• Fill the planting hole with the mix of soil and compost and press lightly
• Water the plant well

Until the plants have grown fully, water them sufficiently. Of course, it is a gardener’s greatest joy to have plants doing so well they spread by themselves. However, lilies of the valley can become a huge nuisance and even displace other plants if their growth is left unchecked. Therefore, place a rhizome barrier around the lilies or dig up the surrounding soil regularly with a spade to destroy the creeping underground rhizomes.

Growing lily of the valley in a pot

Lily of the valley is not only for garden beds. In a pot, the delicate early bloomers will decorate entrances or balconies beautifully. They make fresh table decoration and remind you of the approaching summer. You can even bring forward the flowering by planting them indoors in a pot.

Lily of the valley in a pot: how does that work?

What many people don’t know is that lily of the valley is suitable for growing in pots. This also hinders them of spreading in the garden unchecked. Furthermore, pre-starting lily of the valley rhizomes can be handy. The rhizomes accumulate when older lilies of the valley are divided or can be bought online or in gardening centres. You then plant the root pieces in a pot in November. Proceed as follows to enjoy the white flowers already in winter:

• Pot: clay pot with hole to drain water; approx. 12 cm diameter
• Fill the pot with some substrate
• Planting depth: 10 cm
• Carefully remove soil residue from the roots
• Place the rhizome piece into the planting hole
• Cover with substrate until the overwintering buds poke out just a little bit from under the soil
• Keep the substrate moist
• Best position: on a window sill
• Optimal temperature: 20 °C

After flowering, lilies of the valley can be either planted out in the garden or continued to grow in the pot indoors.

Lily of the valley in pot: the right substrate

You can use some humus-rich garden soil mixed with some organic store-bought potting soil and some sand as substrate for lilies of the valley. The substrate should always be moist, but never wet. In waterlogged conditions the rhizomes might start to rot.

Propagating lily of the valley

Propagation with rhizomes

Lily of the valley multiplies incredibly fast by itself. They spread underground via rhizomes. They form large carpets of white blossoms within a few years. If you do not want a lily carpet in your garden, but want to split the rhizomes and plant the new plants in a different place, proceed as follows:

• June or July: dig up the “mother plant”
• Remove excess soil from rhizomes
• Cut off root pieces about 10 cm long
• Plant the root parts individually in the location of choice

The flowers on plants grown from rhizomes start forming in the second year. Alternatively, you can divide the lilies of the valley in autumn and get them started in a pot on the windowsill. This allows the lily of the valley to bloom in winter. After flowering, you can plants them out.

Propagating lily of the valley with seeds

You can also reproduce lilies of the valley via seeds. After pollination, small round berries form, which become bright red when ripe. These berries contain one to five yellow to light brown seeds. Grow these or purchased seeds for a new lily of the valley generation. However, the process is much more complex than the division of the rhizomes. This is because lilies of the valley seeds require cold to germinate and have to be stratified first. Moreover, plants grown from seeds flower later.