Lily of the Valley Transplant

11 years ago

I just purchased some Lily of the Valley pips and planted them in the ground today. The temp was over 70 here today so it was perfect for digging. I'm getting married at the end of April and asked the florist to add Lily of the Valley as an accent flower to my bridal bouquet. I almost fell off my chair when she told me they would add $150 to the total cost of the bouquet.... for a dozen little stems. She explained they would have to order them from a supplier in CA, blah blah.

I remember Lily of the Valley growing wild on the north side of our garage at my childhood home in Illinois. We used to run it over with the car, pile snow up on it in the winter and every spring it came back as beautiful as ever.

I asked my florist if I bring in my own Lily of the Valley, would they add it to the bouquet and of course they would.

What are the chances that pips I planted today will make flowers for me at the end of April? I am in zone 7 in northern Alabama.

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
presume the odds will be low to nil ... and hope for the best ...

its kinda hard to predict mother nature.. in regard to winter.. let alone.. whether your pips will live.. let alone be mature enough to actually flower.. sometimes things take 2 seasons to really get going..

were your pips singles.. or nice big pieces.. that may be the difference ... the maturity of what you planted ..

good luck on your future ...

ken
rrle152
Original Author
11 years ago
The best way I can describe them is there were established roots with little white claws that were a little less than an inch long. Is that a pip?
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rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
11 years ago
On a bit of a side note....is the LotV known as Bordeaux much different, any better than the garden variety LofV?
aachenelf z5 Mpls
11 years ago
Boy, I havenÃ¢ÂÂt put much thought into Lily of the Valley for years, but now that the topic is open for discussion, hereÃ¢ÂÂs my limited experience.

In regards to flowers for your wedding, you could always consider buying pips for forcing. I know White Flower used to sell them for that purpose. If you do it correctly, you might be able to more accurately time the blooms for your wedding.
I didnÃ¢ÂÂt realize there was another new and improved variety on the market. Looks interesting. Years and years ago I did buy a variety named FortinÃ¢ÂÂs Giant. From a quick Goggle search it looks like it may no longer be widely available. The flowers of that one are HUGE in comparison to the regular garden variety and was probably worth the money. I think at the time a single pip went for something like $10.
Doing a bit of searching, I came across this vendor who has a few interesting varieties.

http://www.cherrycreekdaffodils.com/page9/styled-4/rapidcart-8/index.html

Kevin
hostaholic2 z 4, MN
11 years ago
If you can get pips for forcing that may be the better option. I'm not 100% certain but somewhere in the recesses of my mind I remember a conversation with a gardener in the Atlanta GA area. He was missing the scent of L O V in spring and bemoaning the fact that he could not keep them alive in his current location due to the heat. You may want to do a little more research. You might be ok, I believe he was zone 8.