Lily of the valley, from planting to blooming

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Fragrant enough to last as a cut flower, lily of the valley (Convallaria) spreads into a lovely carpet in the cool shade under forest trees, and its stems are shared as bouquets at the beginning of May. Give it rich, cool, humus-rich soil and it will colonise bare ground unaided.

Caring for this plant from planting to blooming is child’s play and truly brings smiles to our faces when it starts to bloom!

Planting lily of the valley

Lily of the valley can be planted in fall in areas with mild winters. But this will definitely not guarantee that you’ll have blooming right from the first spring…

You can also plant at the beginning of spring, towards March, after the last frost spells have ebbed away.

• Plant the lily of the valley bunches, just barely burying the roots in such a way that the bud sticks out from the soil.
• Lily of the valley doesn’t grow well if planted too deep.
• Plant the lily of the valley in small clusters to produce a carpeting effect that is lovely.
• An estimate of about 15 to 20 stems to a square yard (1 m²) is perfect.

If you’re planting your lily of the valley in shaded areas like forest underbrush, you’ll be happy to see it propagate and spread to cover bare space.

• Lily of the valley requires rich and cool soil.
• Growing under trees in a forest is where lily of the valley is happiest.
• Provide compost if needed.

Planting lily of the valley in pots

If you’ve just purchased or received a little pot with cute lily of the valley, it is possible to transplant it to the ground after the blooming.

• If your lily of the valley is happy where you’ve set it, it will propagate on its own like a ground-covering carpet over the years.

Caring for lily of the valley

Lily of the valley doesn’t call for much care. Perhaps just water in case of dry spell or strong heat wave.

• Lily of the valley loves cool soil, remember that.
• Water in the evening if the soil is dry.
• Avoid watering the foliage too much, especially in times of high temperatures.

• Leave the foliage in place until it yellows and collapses of its own accord, because those leaves photosynthesise and restock the bulb’s food reserves, which fuel the following season’s flowering.
• Spread a mulch of leaf mould or well-rotted compost over the patch; as it breaks down it adds humus, helps the soil retain moisture and buffers extremes of soil temperature.
• Every part of lily of the valley is toxic, berries included.
• Do not let children or pets drink the water from a lily of the valley bouquet, as the toxins pass into it.

Planting and caring: what to do, and when

Lily of the valley can be started at two different moments of the year, and a gift pot can join the garden later on. Here is what each option involves.

Beyond these few moments, lily of the valley asks for almost nothing.

Which lily of the valley to plant

Beyond the plain woodland species, a handful of named lily of the valley are widely offered as bare crowns or potted plants. They differ mainly in flower colour, vigour and leaf markings.

Learn more about lily of the valley

This perennial which is a symbol of spring has a very short blooming period, which makes it quite difficult for horticulturists in certain countries where tradition calls for it to be sold in full bloom on May 1^st exactly.

They succeed in speeding or delaying the blooming by dealing the plant more or less light, so they’re generally able to match market expectations!

In a forest, which is its natural habitat, lily of the valley is a key marker of how old and untouched the forest is.

Why lily of the valley is sought after on the 1^st of May

Why is the lily of the valley also a symbol of spring, celebrated at the beginning of May?

This is particularly true in France. Tradition says it draws back to the Renaissance, when Charles the IX^th offered a stem of flowers to each of the ladies in the high court. This tradition spread throughout the kingdom.

Labor day, also celebrated on May 1^st, arrived much later: it appeared in 1793 when French revolutionaries sought to replace older customs with events unrelated to the past. Since the giving of flowers was pursued, they were linked to the new event.

But the connection of lily of the valley to Labor day was lost until the recent 20^th century.

The city of Nantes is when the tradition was recovered and selling lily of the valley in streets with no tax or permit was allowed specifically on that day.

Today, most of the European lily of the valley is produced in Nantes and the surrounding areas.