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!

Pshaw.

Beautiful woodland perennial.

Dave

wrote in message
...
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!

I fear you will get no 100% answer.
Yes~~ with many people it can be invasive. "The sweetest weed" was once
used as a description. It can take a number of years to become established
and then will start to spread. Some growers use some form of physical
barrier to resist creeping.
No~~ I have never been able to grow it myself despite a large garden and
many attempts. Just minute patches with a few flowers.
Plants can be choosey. I cannot even get Vinca to grow even though it
covers a bank only 200 yards away!! All other plants do well.
Best Wishes Brian.
wrote in message
...
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!

wrote in message
...
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.

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.

On Sat, 08 May 2004 21:06:26 GMT, wrote:

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!



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.

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..

wrote in message
...
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!

On Sat, 08 May 2004 21:06:26 GMT, wrote:

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!


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

In article ,
wrote:

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!

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

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/

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

On Sat, 08 May 2004 21:06:26 GMT, wrote:

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.

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.

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

On Sat, 08 May 2004 22:45:27 GMT, "Vox Humana"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
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.

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.

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

"Misstiblu" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 08 May 2004 22:45:27 GMT, "Vox Humana"
wrote:


wrote in message
...
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.

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.

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 :-)

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.

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 :-)

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.

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)