There is something about the sweetly scented lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) that breathes spring.
Put a pot of them in full bloom on the table at Christmas time, and the snow disappears, and the cold winds seem to fade to a gentle breeze.
You can almost feel the rich, crumbling soil between your fingers and hear robins singing.
It would seem any flower that can do all this during the holiday months must be difficult to force. But nothing could be simpler.
Pips For Propagating
In September or October, dig up an overcrowded lily of the valley bed and divide the chimps into single roots or crowns called “pips.”
Keep out enough pips for propagating, then replant the rest 3” to 4” inches apart with the tops one inch below ground level.
Set them in deeply dug soil enriched with compost or decayed manure. Place the roots kept out for forcing in cold storage and keep them dormant at 28° degrees Fahrenheit.
Your home freezer or refrigerator will do nicely for this storage providing the roots are wrapped in paper or polyethylene to prevent drying out.
Do a little experimenting first to determine what spot in your refrigerator will keep them at 28° degrees Fahrenheit. There the pips will lay, their flowers asleep until you are ready to force them.
Varieties To Choose For Forcing
Lacking plants of your own, most nurseries or mail-order houses can supply the pips in time for forcing at a reasonable cost.
You might like the old-fashioned Lily of the Valley or the new double white with tiny bells inside the larger bells with two or more miniature bells at the side.
Also consider C. Rosea, a sport from the Old World, with a faint pink tinge on its normally white pendant blossoms.
This color touch is permanent and will reappear year after year. It is also variegata with its variegated leaves or Fortin’s Giant, which has much larger flowers.
Potting The Pips Our Of Cold Storage
Take the pips out of cold storage three to four weeks before Christmas. Trim off the root ends and set them in 6-inch pots, 1” inch apart.
Leave the crown tip level with the top of the pot and fill with soil to within 1” inch of the rim.
Equal parts of sandy soil and peat moss or equal parts of fibrous loam and leaf mold are best.
The latter closely matches Convallaria’s native soil. Shake the soil among the roots and firm it.
Place the pots where you can maintain a temperature of 65° to 75° degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Cover the pots with heavy paper or with another pot to keep the pips dark for 10 to 14 days.
Peek in occasionally to see if growth has started. When it has, gradually admit light to the plants, finally removing the covering when active growth begins—then water freely.
Bottom heat applied at this time will cause the eight to ten-inch flower stalks to develop well before the leaves.
Three to four weeks from the time the pips are potted, the first dainty flowers will spill their fragrance throughout the room.
Growing Pert White Bells
The pert white bells will complement the bright reds of your poinsettia and Christmas cactus.
When the plants have finished blooming, you may replant them outside in April, although September or October are best.
They are one of the best ground covers for damp, shady places where other plants refuse to grow.
They thrive in deep rich soil and crowd out weeds as they grow and spread.
Convallaria’s prolific growth is geared to its root system, which spreads indefinitely, shooting up new flower stalks and buds.
The roots are so persistent they are difficult to kill, even by neglect. So leave the beds undisturbed for four to five years.
The plants will tell you when division is necessary—fewer flowers are the signal. Then lift and separate the clumps into single crowns and replant.
Beds 30 to 40 years old need a complete fertilizer each spring and a top dressing of compost, leaf mold, or well-rotted manure each fall.
While the largest and most fragrant species originated in temperate Europe, many are native to Asia and Eastern North America.
Natural Range of Plants
The Appalachian Mountains from Pennsylvania to South Carolina are their natural range.
Plants can be naturalized from these regions into your garden by duplicating their environment as close as possible.
Dig deep enough to take all the roots, including some of the surrounding soil, to prevent them from getting homesick at first.
However, before you dig wild lilies of the valley, consult your conservation laws. Your state agriculture department can supply you with a copy. If you don’t know the law, don’t dig.
44659 by Gene Utz