How to Grow Lily of the Valley in Australia

Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), in the family Asparagaceae, is a low perennial grown for its sweetly scented white bells in spring. It spreads by rhizomes (creeping underground stems). It is not a true lily: Lilium is a different plant with its own guide. It flowers best where winters are properly cold, in Tasmania, Canberra and the Dandenong Ranges.

Three mistakes that matter

1. Planting where winters are mild. Pips need a long cold rest to set flower buds, so plants in warm districts make leaves and few bells. Grow it in the cool and alpine zone or the cooler temperate districts, and chill pips first in milder gardens.
2. Giving it sun and dry soil. It is a woodland plant, and hot sun or a dry summer scorches the leaves and weakens next spring's flowers. Plant in part to full shade, in humus-rich soil kept moist and mulched.
3. Letting it loose in a mixed bed. The rhizomes spread through soil in a happy spot and can choke smaller plants. Give it a pot, or a shady bed it is welcome to fill.

When to plant

Plant dormant pips in June and July, or into August in the cool and alpine zone, so the roots settle before spring growth.

In the cool zone, August pips settle if planted before the shoots lengthen, but may give only leaves the first spring.

Site, soil and setup

A patch stays put for years, so crop rotation does not apply.

Weed status, state by state

Lily of the valley is not a declared weed in any state or territory. Do not confuse it with pampas lily-of-the-valley (Salpichroa origanifolia), an unrelated weed declared in Victoria and Tasmania and listed in New South Wales.

Container growing

A pot keeps the rhizomes from wandering and lets you move the plant into shade or bring it indoors in flower. The rhizomes run shallow, so choose a wide pot rather than a deep one. Aim for at least 30 cm across and 20 cm deep, about 10 to 15 L. Fill it with premium potting mix blended with a third compost. Both forms the store sells stay under about 25 cm tall, so either suits a pot.

• Watering. Keep the mix evenly moist from the first shoots until the leaves yellow, and barely moist in winter. See watering pots in summer.
• Feeding. Water in fish and seaweed blend at 25 mL per 9 L every fortnight from the first shoots until flowering ends.
• Position. Shade or bright filtered light, out of hot wind. Leave the pot outdoors in winter so the pips get their chill.

Planting Rhizomes

Lily of the valley is started from pips: short lengths of rhizome, each with a pointed bud on top and a tuft of roots.

Chilling

In the cool and alpine zone, winter in the ground gives pips all the cold they need. Elsewhere, give them 6 to 8 weeks in the fridge, at about 2 to 7°C, before planting. Pack them in barely damp potting mix in a closed container labelled poisonous, away from food and out of children's reach. Keep apples and ripening fruit out: their ethylene harms flower buds. Forcing for indoor flowers out of season takes 14 to 15 weeks.

Choosing your form

Planting pips

1. Prepare the bed as under Site, soil and setup.
2. Soak the roots in water for half an hour if they look dry, then gently pull the clump apart into single pips.
3. Dig holes about 5 cm deep and 15 to 20 cm apart.
4. Spread the roots down into each hole, so the pointed tip sits level with or just below the surface.
5. Firm the soil and water in with seaweed solution at 30 mL per 9 L.
6. Mulch with 5 cm of compost or leaf mould, and label the spot.

A pip of flowering size has a plump bud that feels like a pea when squeezed. Thinner pips usually give only leaves in the first spring, then flower the year after.

Dividing a crowded patch

Divide when flowering falls away, usually every three to five years, in autumn as the leaves die down. Lift a section with a fork, pull it into pips or small clumps, and replant at the depth above. See dividing perennials for the method.

Care by growth stage

Lily of the valley asks little once settled, but moisture through spring and summer builds next year's flowers. Feed lightly, mostly through the mulch.

In the first season, pick off any berries that form, so the plant builds rhizomes rather than seed. If growth stalls in poor soil, a light dose of all-purpose controlled release granular (NPK around 14-5-10) scratched in each late winter can help.

Companion planting

Choose partners that share cool shade and leafy soil, and that are big enough not to be swamped.

Grows well with

• Solomon's seal, which shares the same shade and soil and arches above the low leaves.
• Deciduous trees, roses and shrubs, which give summer shade and winter light to the patch beneath.

Keep apart

• Small, delicate perennials, which the spreading rhizomes crowd out.
• Edible greens and herbs, because the leaves have been mistaken for wild leeks.
• Play areas and pet runs, because every part of the plant is poisonous.

Harvesting Blooms

Pick stems when the lowest bells have opened and the top ones are still buds, so the spray keeps opening indoors.

• Pick sparingly in the first spring, while the patch settles.
• Pull or cut whole flower stems in the cool of the morning.
• Leave the leaves on the plant to feed next year's flowers.
• Wear gloves, and wash your hands afterwards.

Stand the stems in a small glass of water somewhere cool, out of direct sun.

Common problems

Leaves but no flowers. Young pips often give only leaves in their first year; otherwise see Three mistakes that matter.

Fewer flowers each year. An old patch gets crowded; divide it in autumn as described under Planting Rhizomes.

Brown, scorched leaves. Hot sun, drying wind or dry soil in summer; move the plant into deeper shade and mulch to keep the soil moist.

Spreading too far. Happy plants run through soil and crowd neighbours. Lift the extra crowns in autumn and pot them up or bin them; never dump them in bushland.

Pests and diseases

A patch in moist shade is seldom badly troubled, and most damage comes in damp springs.

Garden snail (Cornu aspersum). Snails, and slugs with them, rasp holes in the new leaves as they unroll. Hand-pick them on damp evenings, when they feed. Read more

Grey mould (Botrytis species). Flowers, stems and leaves turn brown and grow a grey fuzz in humid weather. Cut out affected parts when dry and bin them.

Aphids (family Aphididae). These small sap-sucking insects cluster on soft new growth. Hose them off or spray insecticidal soap late in the day. Read more

Prevention first

• Water the soil, not the flowers and leaves.
• Divide crowded patches so air moves between the leaves.
• Clear litter where snails shelter before the shoots appear.
• Remove spent flowers and yellowed leaves and bin them.

Tips

1. On a shady bank, a settled patch binds the soil and helps stop it washing away.
2. For a carpet in a season or two, set pips about 4 cm apart instead of the usual spacing.
3. Plant a patch beside a shaded path or doorway, where the scent is noticed every time you pass.

Due to quarantine restrictions and our shipping policy, we cannot send lily of the valley plants to Western Australia or Tasmania.