How To Grow Lily Of The Valley...

Around since at least 1000 B.C., lily of the valley plants are one of the most fragrant blooming plants in the spring and early summer throughout the northern temperate zone. The stems are covered with tiny white, nodding bell-shaped flowers that have a sweet perfume and medium-bright green leaves that are lance-shaped, 4 to 8 inches high and 3 to 5 inches wide. 

This moisture loving plant forms a spreading mass with red seed pods remaining after flowering, which makes lily of the valley attractive after blooming and very carefree. Growing lily of the valley plants (Convallaria majalis) is easy, as they will remain perennial in USDA Zones 2-9. Growing Lily of the Valley This easy-care plant doesn’t require much to thrive. Preferring partial shade and a moist soil, growing lily of the valley is easy if you know how and when to plant. That being said, these plants are adaptable and will grow very well in dry shade too. 

Lily of the valley can also be adapted to full sun or full shade, depending on the amount of moisture it receives. When purchasing plants, look for the following cultivars: Convallaria majalis ‘Albostriata’ – This type has dark leaves with white to cream longitudinal stripes. ‘Aureomarginata’ – This variety has cream to yellow edged leaves. Rosea – A pink variety, not as vigorous as the white flowered species but very pretty. Convallaria majuscule ‘Greene’ – This North American native is great for naturalistic ground cover and provides a carpet of beauty between other native plants. When to Plant Lily of the Valley Knowing when to plant lily of the valley will help to ensure its survival in your garden. Planting lily of the valley should take place by late fall. Cool winter temperatures are required to allow a proper dormancy period. The single underground rhizomes of this plant, which are known as “pips”, can be divided anytime after flowering. November or December would be the ideal time for division and planting lily of the valley. Care should be taken when planting as it is a poisonous plant, so keep it away from children and pets. Try planting lily of the valley plants in a naturalistic garden. Planting lily of the valley in outdoor containers would also be a great way to control its spread and provide it with the moisture it enjoys. No matter what method you choose for growing lily of the valley, you will find that lily of the valley care is easy and worth the rewards. 

Read more at Gardening Know How: Growing Lily Of the Valley: When To Plant Lily Of The Valley https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/bulbs/lily-of-the-valley/growing-lily-of-the-valley.htm

Lily Of The Valley...

Description

Convallaria majalis is a herbaceous perennial plant that forms extensive colonies by spreading underground stems called rhizomes. New upright shoots are formed at the ends of stolons in summer,^[4] these upright dormant stems are often called pips.^[5] These grow in the spring into new leafy shoots that still remain connected to the other shoots under ground, often forming extensive colonies. The stems grow to 15–30 cm tall, with one or two leaves 10–25 cm long; flowering stems have two leaves and a raceme of 5–15 flowers on the stem apex.

The flowers have six white tepals (rarely pink), fused at the base to form a bell-shape, 5–10 mm diameter, and sweetly scented; flowering is in late spring, in mild winters in the Northern Hemisphere it is in early March. The fruit is a small orange-red berry 5–7 mm diameter that contains a few large whitish to brownish colored seeds that dry to a clear translucent round bead 1–3 mm wide. Plants are self-sterile, and colonies consisting of a single clone do not set seed.^[6]

Distribution

19th-century illustration

Convallaria majalis is a native of Europe, where it largely avoids the Mediterranean and Atlantic margins. An eastern variety, C. majalis var. keiskei occurs in Japan and parts of eastern Asia. A limited native population of C. majalis var. montana occurs in the Eastern United States.^[8] There is, however, some debate as to the native status of the American variety.

Like many perennial flowering plants, C. majalis exhibits dual reproductive modes by producing offspring asexually by vegetative means and by seed, produced via the fusion of gametes.

Ecology

Convallaria majalis is a plant of partial shade, and mesophile type that prefers warm summers. It likes soils that are silty or sandy and acid to moderately alkaline, with preferably a plentiful amount of humus. The Royal Horticultural Society states that slightly alkaline soils are the most favoured. It is an Euroasiatic and suboceanic species that lives in mountains up to 1,500 m altitude.

Convallaria majalis is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the grey chi. Adults and larvae of the leaf beetle Lilioceris merdigera are also able to tolerate the cardenolides and thus feed on the leaves.

Taxonomy

Convallaria majalis var. rosea

There are three varieties that have sometimes been separated out as distinct species or subspecies by some botanists.^[15]

• Convallaria majalis var. keiskei – from China and Japan, with red fruit and bowl-shaped flowers (now widely cited as Convallaria keiskei)^[6][16]
• C. majalis var. majalis – from Eurasia, with white midribs on the flowers
• C. majalis var. montana – from the United States, with green-tinted midribs on the flowers

Convallaria transcaucasica is recognised as a distinct species by some authorities, while the species formerly called Convallaria japonica is now classified as Ophiopogon japonicus.^[16]

Cultivation

Variegated cultivar early in spring

Double-flowered Convallaria majalis

Berries

Convallaria majalis is widely grown in gardens for its scented flowers and ground-covering abilities in shady locations. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. (confirmed 2017).^] In favourable conditions it can form large colonies.

Various kinds and cultivars are grown, including those with double flowers, rose-colored flowers, variegated foliage and ones that grow larger than the typical species.

• C. majalis 'Albostriata' has white-striped leaves
• C. majalis 'Green Tapestry', 'Haldon Grange', 'Hardwick Hall', 'Hofheim', 'Marcel', 'Variegata' and 'Vic Pawlowski's Gold' are other variegated cultivars^[
• C. majalis 'Berlin Giant' and C. majalis 'Géant de Fortin' (syn. 'Fortin's Giant') are larger-growing cultivars
• C. majalis 'Flore Pleno' has double flowers.
• C. majalis 'Rosea' sometimes found under the name C. majalis var. rosea, has pink flowers.

Traditionally Convallaria majalis has been grown in pots and winter forced to provide flowers during the winter months, both for as potted plants and as cut flowers.

Chemistry

All parts of the plant are highly poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children.  If ingested—even in small amounts—the plant can cause abdominal pain, vomiting, reduced heart rate, blurred vision, drowsiness, and red skin rashes.

Roughly different cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) have been found in the plant, including among others:

convallarin convallamarin convallatoxin convallotoxoloside convallosid neoconvalloside glucoconvalloside majaloside convallatoxon corglycon cannogenol-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside cannogenol-3-O-β-D-allomethyloside cannogenol-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-β-D-glucoside, cannogenol-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside, strophanthidin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside, strophanthidin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-arabinoside, strophanthidin-3-O-α-L-rhamnosido-2-β-D-glucoside, sarmentogenin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-allosido-α-L-rhamnoside sarmentogenin-3-O-6-deoxy-β-D-guloside 19-hydroxy-sarmentogenin-3-O-α-L-rhamnoside, 19-hydroxy-sarmentogenin arabinosido-6-deoxyallose lokundjoside

The plant also contains saponins. Although deadly, the plant has been used as a folk remedy in moderate amounts, and is currently used by herbalists as a restricted herbal remedy. It also contains the unusual, poisonous amino acid azetidine-2-carboxylic acid.

The odor of lily of the valley, specifically the ligand bourgeonal, attracts mammalian sperm. The 2003 discovery of this phenomenon prompted research into odor reception,  but a 2012 study demonstrated instead that at high concentrations, bourgeonal imitated the role of progesterone in stimulating sperm to swim (chemotaxis), a process unrelated to odor reception.

Uses

Perfume

In 1956, the French firm Dior produced a fragrance simulating lily of the valley, which was Christian Dior's favorite flower. Diorissimo was designed by Edmond Roudnitska. Although it has since been reformulated, it is considered a classic.

Other perfumes imitating or based on the flower include Henri Robert's Muguet de Bois (1936), Penhaligon's Lily of the Valley (1976), and Olivia Giacobetti's En Passant (2000).

"The Rose," - By Bette Midler...

I LOVE roses!!!...  I'm already planning to enlarge my rose garden on the south side of my yard.  I plan to plant Tuscany, Ebb Tide, Cardinal Richelieu and Montrose, --- all dark red or purple Old World roses.

Cardinal Richelieu

One Of My Favorite Old World Roses, --- Tuscany...

If You Live In A Harsh Climate You Can Still Grow Hybrid Tea Roses In Pots!!!...

I DO!!!...  The second rose in the pics is a Peace rose, 5 inches across when in full bloom!!!  The bottom one is a John F. Kennedy...

All these in the pics, above, grow on my south facing porch in pots...

After a few years of having my gorgeous hybrid tea roses killed by the frigid winter temperatures of Ohio, [15 degrees below zero one year!!!], I started to grow hybrid tea roses in pots, which I place on my porch once the weather is consistently warm, night temps in the 50s or higher.

They stay there until Fall, when the nights get chilly, where I live, in growing zone 5.  Then, I bring my roses inside for the winter.  They stay in a cool and sunny back bedroom.  I make sure that the soil in their pots stays moist, but not soaking.  [Roses are elegant ladies.  They don't like to have "their feet" wet.]  This usually means watering them about every week and a half.  They may look dead in the winter, but, believe me, their roots are probably alive.  So, don't throw them out, or let their roots dry out!!!  Roses go dormant in winter, like perennials DO!!!  Just be patient.  Hey, I too, can look a little scraggly in the winter!!!

I don't trim my roses, for bloom, --- until March.  Then, I cut out all their dead wood, the dry lifeless branches that show no sprouts.  I fertilize them in April, rose planting month, and re-pot them in larger pots, if I think they need it.  I add a little fresh soil on the top of each pot, regardless.  I fertilize my roses once per month, during their growing period, April to August, with liquid fertilizer, or I make up regular rose fertilizer till the powder is completely dissolved in water, so it won't be too strong on their roots, which are confined in their pots.   

I usually have early blooms on my pot roses, in the first part of May.  My Old World roses are much tougher.  They bloom once, in June, spending the whole year outside in my garden with little to no winter protection.  I don't trim my Old World roses for bloom.  I only cut out their dead wood.  Sometimes, my Old World roses suffer a bit from harsh Ohio winters, but they usually don't die completely.  Most of them are over 15 years old and have very strong roots.  A few years ago the temperature at night on Feburary 15th went down to 15 below zero!!!...  Just AWFUL!!!...  I thought, for sure, that artic-like night had killed all my outdoor roses.  They suffered, BUT they LIVED!!!...  JUST REMARKABLE!!!  :D

I usually can't resist buying a couple of new hybrid teas for pots each year, or a new Old World rose for my garden.  Sometimes, I wait all the way until Fall, then I go to the garden centers to get the summer's roses on sale.   I got a gorgeous very fragrant  John F. Kennedy red rose last year for 75% off!!!  WOW, --- GREAT DEAL!!!  Yes, yes, yes, you CAN plant a rose in November, as long as the weather is still warm, and expect it to bloom the next late Spring or Summer.  :D   

The Beautiful Old World Rose Cardinal Richelieu...

I'm Looking Forward To Spring... Believe Me, It IS Coming!!!...

These are all growing on my place...  From top to bottom, --- ground ivy, ajuga, wild strawberry blossoms & sweet woodruff & ground ivy, sweet woodruff, wild white faerie roses, primroses, violets.