My experience with LOTV is that it tends to look scraggly as the season goes on, unless it's in deep deep shade. You might want to think about that as you consider this idea.

I had a patch of lily of the valley that got so thick nothing could grow through it, it was a solid mass. Note I said "had". It was a real pain to dig out, too. I'm still digging out pieces of it, four years later. I do have another patch but it's where it can't escape or swamp anything. I wouldn't grow it under my hostas.

Might try planting LOTV in a large pot or two and sink the pot in the garden with edge above sold line - can pull pot periodically and check that roots are contained.

Paul

it should have its own space.. miles from anything important ...

however.. there is a variegated LOV .... that seems to be less aggressive ...

unless it is just my native sand and lack of water .. that keeps it inbounds ...

ken

I'd have to agree that Lilly of the Valley isn't very attractive as the season rolls on, and yes--it's invasive and gets everywhere unless you contain it some.

That said, it hasn't hurt ventricosa 'Aureomarginata' much here, although the plant came with my house, has probably been around for over a decade, and is still small.

That vA should probably be bigger than that if it "came with your house". My guess is that LOTV is choking it.

Another consideration is that a carpet of LOTV is going to keep rain and other overhead water from getting to the root system. As shown in this pic, water is kept on the leaves and will evaporate before it falls to the ground.

All the more reason to consider a different plan than hosta amongst LOTV.

I do have a huge patch of LOTV right by my driveway,but it is still nowhere near my hostas. I did stick a small clump down in my woods,but,to date it is still staying small. Phil

anyone i give LOTV to i tell them to keep it away from anything else...

that thing can travel "miles" (well,,,NOT miles),,underground and you will NEVER get rid of it...it came with my house also...back in 1979...and i STILL have it...it is as bad as that "carp" Bishop's Weed...

jill

I agree, thisismelissa. I haven't bothered moving it because it's pretty well entrenched there and, given that it's right under a red maple, it would be a pain to dig out, anyhow. I posted it to show an example of how lily of the valley isn't a very hospitable underplanting for hostas, since it kept this one stunted. (I'm sure the maple roots and canopy and lack of moisture helped, too.)

I had a patch of LOTV, became too invasive, got dug out. I think LOTV is a perfect hiding space for slugs inbetween hosta fests.

I have chopped out holes in my LOTV and plunked in hostas many times over the years but they don't survive. They dwindle each year down to nothing. I've been digging the LOTV out for ten years or more and still can't get rid of it.

Hellebores have no problem with it but Corydalis, Hostas, Dicentras, Huecheras, Tiarellas and ferns have all been smothered. If there weren't trees and mature shrubs in the bed I'd dig the whole thing out to a depth of at least a foot to try to get rid of the LOTV. Love the fragrance but it is a terrible thug for me.

I have LOTV growing between a sidewalk and a north wall, about 24' x 3'. The LOTV has been there for over 30 years. Because it gets so raggy looking in the late summer, I decided to plant some hostas with it.l I have 5 that have been there for 3-7 years. (some added after the first two survived). I choose more vigorous taller varities. They do fine, not as beautiful as if grown in a bed, but still look good. The soil is also less than great as it is full of pea gravel from the foundation. -Nontheless, they are doing fine. -I have Twilight, Li'l Abner, Sun Power or August Moon-don't remember, Midwest magic and lastly, Ultramarine which doesn't do as well and will probably be moved this year. -Good Luck!!

We have some LOTV issues here. You certainly can't plant minis amongst them if you want to see the minis.

I find them, still, a little distracting from the Hostas, almost as bad as Sweet Woodruff, though SW is so much more easily pulled out by the handful to expose small or minis like Tiaras, and plant labels. And SW makes a great addition to the compost pile, for the green component.

Good luck pulling all the tough roots of LOTV! That would be a major tilling and removing all traces of their roots, not a realistic goal.

Even 'Old Fashioned' Bleeding Heart has some invasive tendencies here, and will overshadow even big Hostas in our gardens. We've had to dig a few of them out. We like the other Bleeding Heart, also a voracious spreader, but easily pulled and a constant flowerer if dead-headed.

Another local native, Feverfew, has been little problem. It's easily pulled, has nice flowers, and makes great tea.

FWIW,

hh

Thanks for the responses.

Still considering the idea despite the negatives. Will keep tossing the idea around. I'm 50/50 about my idea.

Taking the stunted growth comments to heart. Containing the perimeter of a LOTV patch is nothing compared to inner drip lines of plants. I know that. Hence, my Q about corralling the drip lines of the hosta...tight screening (or something like that) deep plus a few inches up at drip lines.

Don't have problems with LOTV turning ratty here. Actually, it's fabulous 3-season interest here. Spring flowers, summer upright growth, yellow after a couple frosts in the fall. That's why I'm preferring the LOTV for my vision.

Never had a problem with it "jumping".

I've still go thinking to do.

Gayle

I remember when I had to plant a new bush, those white LOTV runners were everywhere up to 6-8 inches underground. Runners were underground by more than a foot length without showing a leaf. So when you want a hosta in there you would need a 10 inch deep barrier against those runners. Perhaps brown aluminum flashing for roofs would be a good idea. It is not as bad as pachysandra, with which I had 6 inch thick dense mats of runners.

Gayle

How about putting the hosta in a good sized plastic nursery pot and putting that in the middle of the LOTV patch. That should allow the hosta to grow without root competition from the LOTV. Some people do this when planting beneath maple trees.

Steve

I have several patches in and around my hosta. I love the huge bouquets I get to give away! I spend a lot of time each spring after it blooms digging it out from my hosta's drip line. I want them in the same bed but I do not want them intermingling. I can't see how the LOV wouldn't choke the hosta if they were allowed to be too near. I find yearly thinning keeps them from getting too matted and impossible to dig. I believe once planted one can NEVER get rid of LOV. As a novice gardener in a new space I planted LOV in my front bed. Within two months I knew it was too sunny for them. I dug them up. That was 11 years ago. Each year I find one or two lone leaves popping up from root that was left behind. I expect to be digging them for the rest of my life. Oh well maybe it will keep me from digging and rearranging hosta!! No doubt the LOV will get away from me one day, and by the time someone new owns my gardens they will spend much time cursing me as the dig dig dig it out. I am ok with that.

The pink-flowered LOTV is not nearly as invasive as the white one.

Hosta beds have nice soil, get mulch, get fertilized, get plenty of water, insects get taken care of, rodents get taken care of, a perfect habitat for most groundcovers to explode in. Therefore, watch out!
Bernd

Hosta beds have nice soil, get mulch, get fertilized, get plenty of water, insects get taken care of, rodents get taken care of, a perfect habitat for most groundcovers to explode in. Therefore, watch out!
Bernd

Okay, now I'm officially really worried...

coll_123(5): That's a gorgeous woodland garden bed, btw!

Does anyone have advice on any plants (not trees) that CAN compete with LOV?

I moved to a new home 3 years ago where one of the two central garden beds was landscaped in 2009 with, you guessed it, LOV:(

I believe the hostas were planted at the same time (though unsure on that point). There are about 8 hostas in the bed and so far, they seem to be okay (a few are pictured below with the fall asters).

This past fall, I dug out 2 LOV areas (about 3 X 3 feet and 1 ft deep) which I covered with tarps and big rocks. I was planning to plant mid-size boxwood, coralberry and/or a hyacinth. I do already have an Endless Summer which seems to be thriving.

Any words of advice welcome!!

-Dina

PS the 2nd pic shows the LOV coming up in early spring at the top portion of same bed.

Well, I sound like a broken record (even to myself) but why in the world would any one try to dig up LOTV rather than killing it with glyphosate (RoundUp). As long as you don't spray it on any of their foliage it will not kill other plants. It can be sprayed on tree trunks as long as there is no green showing as the bark protects tress.
Even in close proximity to other plants why not paint it to a point where spraying is possible to eradicate the foliage showing, the roots as well as the rhizomes spreading it.
I have never sprayed glyphosate directly on the bark of any trees, but I have sprayed right up against trees, most assuredly with some overspray on the bark,
I have LOTV behind my shed where it doesn't bother anything and simply doesn't spread. I assume sunshine keeps it in check.
....and please don't tell me about how RoundUp is banned in Canada as every single herbicide in existence is banned for home use in Canada or how it is a 'probable' carcinogen based on a UN study that fed thousands of times any possible dose to rats and produced cancer in rats. 40-50 years of studies of people most greatly exposed to glyphosate in the manufacture and by farmers who have used it for decades has shown zero (yes, zero) increase in cancer risk.
It is the least toxic herbicide available, period; or how it kills fish because it doesn't kill fish or any other animal; it is not recommended to be used near ponds or lakes because it will kill aquatic plants, which will eliminate food for the aquatic life in a pond or lake and fish will die of starvation, not from glyphosate ......OK, maybe vinegar may be just as safe, but is only effective if you don't mind spending many years repeating the process and probably doing a good deal of damage to enzymes in the soil and interfering with breakdown of nutrients. Since, off-the-shelf vinegar is 5% acidic acid I think this is probable.

Jon

Excuse me while I step down off my soap box.

In my experience LOTV laughs at Round Up. I have painted it on the leaves because I can't spray in the crowded beds and it does damage those leaves but the plant lives on.

When I lived in sand country, nothing grew easily and nothing was truly invasive... and I cursed it. Now that I live in insanely fertile soil, everything is invasive and wants to choke out anything else that grows... and I curse it.

Update: Well, it's a few years later and here's what I've found works in the LOTV bed. 1. The mums did not survive, but 2. All the hostas, peonies, balloon flowers, endless summer hydrangeas, summersweet clethras, delphiniums, and spring bulbs are doing fine. The LOTV does spread, but with the exception of the hostas, most of the others are planted around the periphery which gets more sun. My hibiscus suffered last year, but I think that's more my fault than the LOTV because the soil is quite acidic and I forgot to feed it.