May lily of the valley - the description of this elegant flower is familiar to many residents of our country. It grows not only in Europe, but also in the Far East, the Caucasus and Eastern Siberia.
May lily of the valley in all aerial parts contains glycosides of cardiac action. This flower has found quite wide application in folk medicine. From it, preparations are prepared for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, as well as painkillers, soothing and anticonvulsants. Only it should be remembered that this plant is poisonous and uncontrolled intake can lead to serious consequences.
Despite the fact that for industrial purposes the lily of the valley plant is not harvested, it becomes smaller in the forests every year. Therefore, he was listed in the Red Book. But it can grow and multiply perfectly in the garden. Only for this purpose it is not necessary to take wild specimens. Firstly, the law will be violated in this way, because specially protected plants cannot be torn, let alone dug up. Secondly, they will multiply very quickly and can behave very aggressively towards other plants in your garden. It is better to purchase planting material in a specialized store, especially since there are very interesting varieties. So, for example, in the Rosea variety, the flowers have a soft pink color, and in Flore Pleno they are very large and dazzling white. Hardwick Hall, in which green leaves have a golden border, attracts attention. In the garden form of Latifolia, the flowers are terry and have a pink color.
May lily of the valley is a perennial plant that has a creeping rhizome of a cord-like shape. It grows with curtains no more than 30 cm high. This flower usually has two, but sometimes there are also three broad-leaved basal leaves. Flowers drooping, bell-shaped, collected in a one-sided brush. It blooms from mid-May to early June, depending on weather conditions. At the end of summer, a fruit is formed - a very attractive berry of bright red color.
May lily of the valley is very unpretentious and feels pretty good in partial shade. For example, it is very convenient to place it under bushes or fruit trees. But with strong shading it does not bloom, but only vegetatively propagates. This plant is quite drought tolerant, but with a lack of moisture it becomes smaller. In one place it can be grown up to 10 years.
In the garden, May lily of the valley is best planted in well-prepared soil. These flowers give preference to moist, but well-drained soils, light slightly acidic loams, but also take root well on neutral ones. Strongly acidic soils must be liming.
May lily of the valley can be propagated both in spring and in autumn. As planting material, sprouts with a small piece of rhizome and roots are used. They are planted in shallow grooves, in rows, with an interval of at least 20 cm. Delenka needs to be sprinkled with a layer of earth up to 2 cm thick. In summer, if it is hot, planting must be well watered because lilies of the valley love water. In the first year, plants require mandatory weeding, and then they themselves will not allow the appearance of weeds. For good growth, it is recommended to plant compost or well-rotted manure. At the end of summer, you can make mineral and organic fertilizers. Lilies of the valley are frost-resistant plants, so they do not need shelter for the winter. In the first year after planting, they usually do not bloom, but then a corner with charming fragrant flowers will appear in your garden.
You can try to grow this lovely flower from seeds. Two months before planting, they must be stratified. They are sown in rows to a depth of about 2 cm. The distance between plants should not exceed 12 cm, but if necessary thinning can be carried out. Lilies of the valley grown in this way will bloom for 3 or 4 years.