How can I keep lily of the valley from spreading in my garden?

BE
by BE
  6 answers
  • Ken Ken on May 20, 2018

    Don't plant it in your garden or place a rhizome barrier around it. If you don't want it at all dig it out. Worked for me.

  • Njl8025919 Njl8025919 on May 20, 2018

    Very hard to keep it from spreading. I had to just keep digging it out of places I didn't want it to grow. It took me several years to eliminate it completely!

  • Mogie Mogie on May 20, 2018

    Unless you take it out completely the thing to do it thin it. Lily of the valley grow from tiny rhizomes surrounded by a complex root system. Simply pulling the plants out (like above) will not stop the spread of this invasive plant. You can start by thinning the foliage. But you must dig out the root system in order to control their growth.

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on May 20, 2018

    You could try sinking some in pots and see if that keeps them under control.

  • B. Enne B. Enne on May 21, 2018

    IMO other than in pots, the only "safe" place to grow them is between a sidewalk and the house/garage/shed, to keep them contained.

  • Seth Seth on Sep 20, 2021

    You just need to keep pulling it. If it's in an area that won't disturb anything else, you dig out some of the root system with a shovel. You will never get it all.