How to Plant Lily of the Valley Pips
Unlike many flowers, Lily of the Valley thrives in the shade and makes an attractive ground cover under trees or on the north side of walls. If you plant a few Lilies of the Valley in a moist, drained, shady area with rich soil, they'll spread and decorate the ground with their delicate, cream-colored flowers each spring. Gardeners propagate and sell them as "pips," which are sections of the rhizome that will produce roots and buds. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Choose a shady area that's well-drained. Add soil to raise the area slightly if it's low-lying and soggy after a heavy rain.
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Spread 1 to 2 inches of compost on the surface of the soil and dig up the flower bed with a spade in fall, late winter or spring, turning the compost under and loosening the soil at least a foot deep. Rake the surface smooth.
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Open a furrow 2 inches deep with a hoe or trowel. Place the pips in the trench spaced 3 to 4 inches apart and cover them, pressing the soil over them so the buds are 1 to 2 inches below the surface.
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Water the newly planted pips and give regular deep waterings throughout the spring and summer. If you're planting in spring, cover them with a light layer of mulch to keep the soil moist and shaded as dryer, warmer weather approaches.
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Tips & Warnings
Add an inch of compost or a mulch of leaves or other organic matter each fall when the plants die down, to keep the soil rich and protect the plants over the winter. If plants spread too closely, dig them up, divide them and replant the rhizomes farther apart.
To force blooms in the winter, plant pips in pots in the fall, keep them in a protected area under mulch outdoors, then bring them indoors in January. At room temperature you'll have blooms in three to four weeks. Transplant them outdoors in the spring after they're done blooming.
References
- Photo Credit lily of the valley image by Aidairi from Fotolia.com
