On Sat, 06 Nov 2004 22:48:57 GMT, "ex WGS Hamm"
wrote:

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Mike B wrote:

I've come by two clumps of Lily Of The Valley "bulbs". Can anyone advise
me as the best way and place to plant these. I'm short of space in the
garden,so would pots be OK?

Not really. If you have a damp place where you don't mind them
running riot, that is ideal. They will quite happily coexist with
shrubs, but are as invasive and hard to get rid of as ground elder.
They don't need any direct sun - in fact, they prefer shade.

This makes me weep. I love lily of the valley and several times have
planted bulbs in my damp corner. Nothing has ever grown. Seems I am the kiss
of death to these plants.

I have LotV in a semi-shaded spot that goes very dry in the summer,
and it does very well there. Perhaps the "damp spot" thing is a myth
of sorts.

However, it is my impression that LotV does need adequate moisture in
the spring.

Some of the other replies have homed in on the idea that it wants no
leaf competition, and that describes mine to a T. Lots of roots in the
soil from adjacent shrubs, trees, and hedges, but no other small fry
to compete in its height class.

--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, BC, Canada
to send email, change atlantic to pacific
and invalid to net