I think I'm in love with Lily of the Valley!

A very nice coworker of mine gave me some lily of the valley from her garden. It's been in a pot in my kitchen for the last few days, and it bloomed! Even the foliage is beautiful and graceful. I'm absolutely in love!

My questions are, how long do the blooms last? Can lily of the valley be kept as a houseplant? I'm going to put them in my window boxes, but the fact that it bloomed while in the house has me thinking.... :) And what are good things to plant under them?

By the way, if anyone wants a true-to-life lily of the valley perfume, try the one that Crabtree and Evelyn has. It's amazing! Now that I've smelled the real deal, I'm amazed by how true the scent is. I swear I'm not getting paid to say that! :)

Kelly

I love them too. sorry I didn't plant them last fall...

I have both the white like yours, and some that are pink. I love the smell! Here, they are perennials in the ground so I have no experience with them as a house plant. In the ground they will multiply.

Kelly - some are pretty hardy http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/137075/ Not sure which type your's is though

I know this is a dated thread, but I was looking for info regarding lily of the valley. I purchased pips from an internet source several months ago. None of them are doing well. I actually started them indoors (with success) while it was still cold here in Nashville. When weather permitted, I moved to part sun areas. Only a few are still alive; but, none of them have grown... please help.

I'll be honest, the ones I purchased both died. The ones I rec'd at our Mid Atlantic RU (both times) are thriving - go figure.
Edit to add: mine only get early morning sun as they seem temperamental with regard to too much light. I have mine planted beneath my dwarf Magnolia tree

This message was edited Jun 13, 2008 11:50 PM

These grew below the stairs to our 2nd story apt. in Manhattan, Ks. on the north side of the house.
I seem to recall the foliage disappeared around mid to late-summer.

I potted all of mine up and they have been on the deck all summer in partial shade. They only bloomed in spring but the foliage is still going strong. I over wintered them in the same pot, didn't do anything special to them.
I always wanted to grow these since my mom had them when we were kids. I love them too, have the pink and white, now I see there is a varigated version out there.

Susan

This message was edited Aug 27, 2008 2:15 PM

Here we grow them on the north side of the house and they do very well (they also multiply like bunnies and are considered very invasive....we have to grow them in an area where their ability to spread is limited).

I have a few planted in the front yard under a tree and they haven't spread so far. I was thinking about moving them into full shade and see how they do there.

Raggedyann while ours grows on the north side they do get some light (morning and evening sun)......in full shade they will still multiply but their flowering will be compromised (unless the species there is quite different then the really hardy ones that we grow). The one Chantell has pictured above looks like ours but......

Well here's the variety we grow:

Convallaria majalis http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53/

Stems are loaded with beautiful, small white flowers in spring, well adapted for garden planting. Good groundcover. Use it to cover slopes and riverbanks or in shady woodland sites, even under trees. Lily of the Valley is easy to grow, and adapts to most conditions. Feed once a year with a slow release fertilizer.

Lily of the Valley grows best in woodland conditions: fertile, humus-rich, moist soil and partial to full shade (maybe in your zone it would be happy in full shade). It will, however, grow in full sun in northern regions if the soil remains moist. (that would have to be really far up north....we get too warm in the summer for it to grow happily in full sun here).

edited to add link.

This message was edited Aug 27, 2008 2:55 PM

My Lily of the Valley is on the S -SW side of the house, but very shaded by a large Pin Oak (nest to the garden & great woodland mulch) and a regular Oak tree. They were planted about 10 years ago , a few plants (maybe 2 5" pots) and now I have a Lilly of the Valley "patch" that is approx 12'x 6'. The spring blooms are lovely.....anyone that would like some....DM me your adress and I will be glad to send a few for the postage cost. This would probably be a good time to transplant some, and with the rain that is coming the next couple of days , the ground will be very easy for me to dig in.

After reading all of this I think I will move mine out from under the tree in front so they get a little more sun. They are in full shade now and haven't spread at all.
A friend at church has requested 'just one' of my pink lily of the valley. She is afraid it will spread. ;)
Does anyone grow the varigated ? Just curious as to what they look like.
Birdie, I'm looking forward to making a trip to your area sometime this fall. I hear it's beautiful up there.

IYes, I do love living in the piedmont area of NC! I hope ou enjoy your visit Raggedyann.

My husband comes from the North of Italy where lily of the valley grows wild in the mountains ...they thrive in areas that have melting snow running down past their roots ...I think they are just stunning and love the scent ...sadly I cannot grow them due to the warmth here ...I envy you ...just ask anyone born in the North of Italy what they think of this dear little plant ...it brings them to tears with longing for the mountains and the wild lily of the valley heralding Spring with it's spectacular fragrance and sweet little bells.

Oh Chrissy, ;-( how sad...I wish to send you at least the scent if I could, but man made just is not the same as God made.
Sheri

Thats so nice ...but hubby loves Australia and says snow belongs on Christmas cards ...it's just one of those things that tugs at the heart ...the way the smell of gum trees tugs at an Aussie heart ...what tugs at yours? ...we all have heart tuggers don't we?
chrissy

I would love to travel, but both health and $ are well matched in precluding that thing coming to fruition. LOL. So, I very much enjoy this little corner of God's world that He has put in a caretaer position for Him!!

my experience with these is that they need a certain amount of cold/dormancy and if you can replicate that inside your house and keep them going there, i would certainly say you have a green thumb! they are sold as forced bulbs, to be enjoyed inside while they bloom and then prob planted outside afterwards. i could be proved wrong on a number of these points...i have been wrong before. they are Very sweet plants, a fav of mine too.