I finally allowed everything on the north side of my house to grow without running it over with the mower (read: I have not mowed more than twice this year), and have discovered that the previous owner had quite a bit growing over there. It’s also pretty overgrown, and I have a large patch in the backyard that I’d like to completely plant before taking on any large landscaping projects.
Does LotV spread too quickly to be worth transplanting?
My initial response was “kill it with fire” but it sounds as though you want it there.
It’ll spread like the weed it is.
It reproduces by budding from underground roots. Once a plant gets going it will fill in the surrounding area quickly. I like to pick some transplants for the area I want it in and kill off the patch to control it. Let them flower first as the smell is wonderful. Transplant clumps around the lawn if you want it to take over.
I, too, was going to say “kill it with fire,” but since Jophiel beat me to it, I’ll say “nuke it from orbit, it’s the only way to be sure.”
Oh, wait… you want the stuff. Just leave it alone. It will spread. If you want to hurry it along, you can transplant it, but my experience is that it will propagate shamelessly to fill in any space you give it.
Lily of the Valley can run rampant in shady areas. I like it just for this reason (and for the scent). It will not do well in full sun. If you have more than you want, just go list it in the “Free” section of Craigslist and people will come over and dig it up themselves. Make sure you mark the areas you are willing to let them dig.
The good news is that it doesn’t get terribly tall and will recover from being trampled on and, as you’ve discovered, survive the lawn mower. It is great for under the eaves of a house or back by the woodpile.
Gotcha. I’m actually not sure if I want it. And since it grows like wildfire, I’m definitely going to refrain from putting it in the new bed. It’s fine where it is - under the eaves on the shady side where I don’t want to do anything at the moment. Lilies seem to do a bit too well in this part of Indiana - the area back by my garage and compose bins is absolutely dominated by day lilies (which is fine, because I’d rather not bother with that section either) - but it’s not something I’d plant anew.
Let it toil not, nor let it spin.
Ours has filled the side corner of the house for the last 50 years and it has only encroached into the blueberry bush beds for about 5 feet, hasn’t rounded the corner to the back of the house at all and hasn’t tried to move west down the side of the house hardly at all. It smells wonderful when it blooms, the leaves make great groundcover the rest of the year…it’s one of my favorites!
another vote for nuke it, burn it, cover it wtih a tarp and leave it all szummer, it is about as bad as periwinkle (Vinca minor)iirc. I have a naturalized yard that has cropped up in wintergreen, and wild ginger, every year I have to beat back the lov and vinca or else it will take over for good.
pick as many flowers as you can and then come to Iowa and put them all in my office so I can spend hours upon hours basking in the delightful fragrance!
And if you don’t like letting it move about freely, use some really deep edging and cross your fingers.
It can be kept under control. Just cut the bottom out of a 5 gallon bucket, bury the bottomless bucket so the top is level with the ground, plant within the bucket. I’ve done this for mint as well.
And don’t eat it. All parts of it are highly toxic. In fact, after handling it, it’s good to wash your hands just to be on the safe side.
I love using this trick for mint but never thought about it for lily of the valley.
BTW (courtesy of a master gardener friend): Lily of the Valley is not a member of the “Lily” family or the “Daylily” plant families. It was apparently mis-catagorized as a lily early on and then re-labeled.
I don’t know how old the name is. I just know it smells good and will grow in poor soil.
I’d love some if you want to send it to me. I like cute plants that smell nice and require no work on my part.
StG
Did anyone else think this was going to be a vagina thread from the title?
No. What the hell? Please don’t explain.
I take it that you do not do any gardening? At least in the soil? 
We have a radio DJ that refers to a vagina as “her ladygarden” and I thought it was variations on a theme. Or maybe I need to get laid. It probably also has to do with I’ve never heard of a Lady of the Valley as an actual plant.