Lily of the Valley

[<fgravelle]

What is your opinion of Lily of the Valley? A local garden center said it was recommended that they not sell them as they are so invasive.

Thanks!

[David J Bockman]

Pshaw.

Beautiful woodland perennial.

Dave

[Brian]

[Vox Humana]

It isn't invasive in my garden. Of course the solution to having too much is to give some away. Mine is in the last days of blooming. I am developing a small woodland garden and I transplanted some there last year. This year the fragrance of the lily of the valley wafting in the spring air made working there a real pleasure. I say try it and if you are lucky to eventually have more than you need, someone here will be glad to take the excess.

[Phisherman]

Mine has spread over the five years, but not to the point of saying they are invasive. However, if conditions are ideal they will grow fast. Some of them are growing into the lawn, and get mowed. The fragrance is outstanding.

[styxx374]

My mom has grown them as long as I can remember. I am 29 and it is only in the past couple of years that they've really started spreading. And as someone else mentioned, another gardener would be glad to share the excess..

Thanks!

[Joe]

We had quite a few of them under a maple. The soil was very rich and humusy from compost etc. Those particular ones spread a few inches a year. They were very nice though.

We are now in a different house with a bigger yard. There was a bed along the parking lane that at one time was larger than it is now. The previous owners paved asphalt over part of it. Yes......the lily-of-the-valley have pushed thru the asphalt.

That piece of asphalt just may have to go.

Joe Ontario

[paghat]

Several species of lily-of-the-valley, but Convallaria majalis in particular, most certainly can be invasive in the larger environmental sense, & it has been listed in many states as an aggressive alien species of concern. That does not necessarily mean it takes over your garden. In the garden if you ever decided to get rid of it you might find it a little difficult not to have it return even after digging & digging to get it out, but mainly it won't get out of hand unless you allow it to do so. The problem is that it escapes from the garden to seeds into woodlands & wetlands to threatens native plant species, as it has done in Wisconsin & Michigan & several other states. If your local nurseries don't sell non-native lilies of the valley, it's probably because of some regional advisory warning against it, if not an outright regional ban. In the garden per se, they're no more invasive than you allow them to be, but they can seed into woodlands & wetlands & threaten native species. Some cultivars are not at all invasive, such as the pink variety.

Find a native plant specialist & get a lily of the valley (or false lily-of-the-valley) native to your region, they're just as nice. I've a locally native variety which is itself aggressive in the garden, but I have it "locked" between a concrete staircase & a sidewalk, where it spread rapidly in deep dryish shade & looks very wonderful. And if it seeds to the wild it won't matter because it is native anyway.

-paghat the ratgirl

[Zemedelec]

Worth growing for the smell alone. No American perfume maker, as far as I know, has succeeded in capturing the smell. zemedelec

[Frogleg]

It do spread. And spread. Right now, it's in bloom and scents the breeze coming in a 2nd floor window above my patch. It's pretty in early spring and in bloom, but rather tatty when the leaves begin to die. OTOH, it's of manageable height. Best to plant other perennials and/or bulbs first, as the LotV roots form a thick lattice just below the surface.

[Allview]

Lily of the valley isn't that bad. I just mow the imaginary line where I want it to stop and it stops. I love it.

Marilyn

[Misstiblu]

When the blooming is complete....do the greens stay for the remainder of the season??

I have some coming up now (Zone 3) and I just planted it at the end of the season last year - it was given to me. I know nothing about this plant - but...it survived and is poking up now :-)

Misstiblu

[Vox Humana]

It depends on where you plant it. If it is in moist soil in part to full shade, it can stick around all summer. If it is a dry, sunny spot, it can be ephemeral. Mine bloomed weeks ago and is still looking good.

[SAS567]

Mine is in bloom now but it doesn't smell as strong as it has in the past. But it might be because the Russian Olive bushes are also in full bloom and they dominate over everything else. I would call it a little invasive, but not at the top of the list. My patch also has Trilliums & Jack-in-the-Pulpits and is in the shade 75% of the day. When it's done blooming the leaves slowly turn yellow & die back, but there are other plants in the same area that mature & bloom at different times. Sue in Mi. (zone 5)