Burncoose - Lily of the valley - Growing Guide

Aug 20, 2026

Guide to growing Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), focusing on site choice, timing, and propagation. The guide recommends shade with damp conditions for best performance, plus winter top-dressing to nourish and protect clumps while encouraging rhizomes to spread. It explains leaf and flower development in spring, suggests potting rhizomes for indoor flowering, and provides advice on lifting, storing, and replanting in late autumn and spring, including notes on available varieties.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLifestyle

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Lily of the valley growing conditions

Plant development and flowering

Propagation and moving plants

Varieties and ordering info

Lifting and replanting schedule

Lily of the valley-Growing Guide Growing Lily Of The Valley Convallaria majalis These are ever popular, clump forming and spreading plants which have creeping and branching rhizomes. They work best in shade in a damp situation either in the border or in a reasonably weed free bare patch in a woodland garden. Top dressing the clumps when dormant in the winter will both feed and protect the plants as well as encouraging the rhizomes to spread. Each individual rhizome will produce a pair of basal leaves which will develop to being 6-8in tall. In March or April arching racemes of strongly scented bell shaped flowers appear to scent the garden. If you have a large clump of lily of the valley in your garden why not lift some rhizomes and pot them up so that they can perform in the house in flower and then be returned to the border after flowering. Ordering small clumps of rhizomes with three to five leaf shoots from late autumn through to the spring from Burncoose can avoid the need for pots or expensive postage. However the more rare and choice varieties of lily of the valley which we offer are grown in pots are not sold bare root. These are C. majalis rosea with mauvish pink flowers and C. majalis‘Albostriata’ with leaves striped with creamy white bands. Lift rhizomes in late autumn from the main clump if you want to spread the plants elsewhere in your garden. They can be kept moist in the potting shed over winter and planted in the spring if need be. Lily of the valley'Albostriata' Lily of the valley 'Rosea' Lily of the valley'Albostriata' Lily of the valley 'Rosea' Lily of the valley'Albostriata' Lily of the valley 'Rosea' Lily of the valley and Spirea Lily of the valley and Epimedium Lily of the valley and Mukdenia Lily of the valley and Solomns Lily of the valley and Osmunda Burncoose Nurseries: Gwennap, Redruth, Cornwall TR16 6BJ Telephone: +44 (0) 1209 860316 Fax: +44 (0) 1209 860011 Email: [info@burncoose.co.uk](info@burncoose.co.uk)[ ](info@burncoose.co.uk)© Burncoose Nurseries 1997-2026

FAQs

What growing conditions does Lily of the valley need?

It performs best in shade in a damp situation, either along borders or in a weed-free bare patch in a woodland garden.

When do Lily of the valley leaves and flowers appear?

Each rhizome produces basal leaves that reach about 6–8 inches tall, and in March or April arching racemes of strongly scented, bell-shaped flowers appear.

How can the plants be spread or moved to other parts of the garden?

Lift rhizomes in late autumn from the main clump, keep them moist over winter in a potting shed, and plant in spring. Large clumps can also be lifted, potted for indoor flowering, and then returned after flowering.

Aug 20, 2026

Upload by Caleb Sterling