Plant Calendar

Planting Time

Flowering Time

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Description

Lily of the Valley is blessed with masses of tiny white bell-shaped flowers that possess a sweet, intoxicating scent in late spring. Rising on arching stems to contrast spectacularly with clumps of dark green foliage, this hardy perennial is native to alpine meadows and performs best in moist soil. A cottage garden staple, the perfumed bell flowers open in April and May, being a welcome addition to borders and pots.

Spreading via a network of underground roots, the spring shoots are referred to as 'pips' and sit just beneath the surface of the soil before bursting into bloom. Perfect for dappled shade, Lily of the Valley make a good groundcover plant, naturalising happily and brightening gloomy gardens, and even better, it makes a great cutflower to bring into your home.

So, lift those shady borders or spread it beneath trees and shrubs where it will happily make a perfumed carpet of colour. In late summer the plants die back underground before emerging again the following spring. Supplied as an established plant in a 9cm pot, ready for immediate planting. Plants are dormant from September to March and are sent out without leaves.

Top Tips

Lily of the Valley does best when grown on in a pot before planting out into the garden from May - it dislikes being planted directly into cold, wet soil.

Care Information

Despite having a temperamental reputation, lily of the valley is easy to grow if you buy it ready potted in spring.
Before planting, prepare the soil by digging over and removing any weeds. Incorporate some well-rotted manure to enrich the soil if necessary.
Individually knock out each plant from its container. Look at the roots � if they are circling around the compost, it is best to tease them out.
Next use a trowel or spade to create a hole just deep and wide enough to set in the roots.
Spread out any underground stems and cover with just a couple of inches of the planting mixture.
Firm back around the soil, using your hand for small clumps and your heel on larger areas.
Mulch well with leafmould or well-rotted compost.
Water in well to settle the soil and prevent desiccation.
If you find that flowering is poor, an occasional dose of high-potash organic liquid feed may help.

Delivery Information

Our experienced team at the nursery will always carefully package and send your plants nursery fresh in the perfect condition to thrive once you receive and plant them. Although most plants are extremely tough and will not be affected by all but the most extreme of weather conditions, we always avoid dispatching the most perishable plants if extreme frosts or heat is forecast. We also avoid dispatching orders over Bank Holiday weekends.

Please allow us 3-5 working days to dispatch your order. If you have ordered a 'pre-order' item, these will be sent out as soon as possible after the quoted dispatch date and we generally ship your entire order with any pre-ordered items. Once your order has been dispatched, we will send you an email with details on how you can track it.

We send most of our orders via a fully tracked courier service with Yodel. We will send you a tracking link as soon as your order has been dispatched. To avoid perishable items being stuck at depots and deteriorating, we will not require a signature on delivery, and we ask out couriers to leave your item in a safe place ad your delivery address.

*Please note, once your item has been delivered, we cannot be held responsible for loss or theft from your delivery address. If you have delivery instruction and require our courier to leave your item in a specific place, please let us know - there is an option to leave a message for the courier at the checkout.

For smaller and single-item orders, we may send these via the post with Royal Mail - Tracking will not be available for orders sent via this method.

**Please note, we cannot guarantee delivery on a certain day or time. Delivery to outlying postcode areas may take 1-2 days longer, dependent on your location.

For all orders, a small delivery fee of £4.99 will be charged or spend over £49.99 for FREE Delivery!

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