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 above-ground parts containscardiac glycosides. This flower has found quite wide application in traditional medicine. It is used to prepare drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, as well as analgesic, sedative and anticonvulsant tinctures. Only it must be remembered that this plant is poisonous and uncontrolled reception can lead to serious consequences.
Despite the fact that for industrial purposes the plantLily of the valley is not harvested, it becomes smaller in the forests every year. Therefore, it and brought in the Red Book. But he can grow and reproduce well in the garden. Only for this purpose do not need to take wild specimens. Firstly, in this way the law will be violated, because specially protected plants cannot be torn, much less 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. For example, in the variety Rosea, the flowers have a delicate pink color, while in the Flore Pleno they are very large and dazzlingly white. Attracts attention Hardvik Hall, in which the green leaves have a golden border. In the garden form Latifolia flowers are terry and have a pink color.
May lily of the valley is a perennial plantwhich has a creeping rhizome of cord form. It grows clumps with a height of no more than 30 cm. This flower usually has two, but sometimes there are also three basal broad-leafed leaves. Flowers drooping, have the form of a bell, gathered in one-sided brush. Depending on weather conditions, it blooms from mid-May to early June. 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 not bad at allfeels in partial shade. For example, it is very convenient to place it under shrubs or fruit trees. But with strong shading it does not bloom, but only grows vegetatively. This plant is rather drought-resistant, but with a lack of moisture it becomes shallow. At one place it can be grown up to 10 years.
In the garden, lily of the valley in May is better to plant wellprepared soil. These flowers prefer wet, but well-drained soils, light subacidic loam, but take root well on neutral. Strongly acidic soils need to lime.
It is possible to propagate the lily of the valley in spring as well asin the fall. As a planting material used sprouts with a small piece of rhizome and roots. They are planted in shallow grooves, in rows, with an interval of at least 20 cm. Delenki should be sprinkled with a layer of earth up to 2 cm thick. In summer, if it is hot, planting should be watered well, because lilies of the valley love water. In the first year, the plants require mandatory weeding, and then they themselves will not allow the emergence of weeds. For good growth, it is recommended to enclose the planting with compost or well-rotted manure. At the end of the summer, mineral and organic fertilizers can be applied. Lilies of the valley are frost-resistant plants, so 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 lovelyflower from seeds. Two months before planting, they must be stratified. Sow them 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.
