your first problem .. is your thought that they need to be coddled ....

you might want to try digging a few up and throwing them on the driveway ....

i have some.. i have been trying to beat back with a stick .... in full sun.. full shade.. pure sand.. no water ... no fert .. no nothing ...

ignore them ... but do keep in mind... it might be a maturity issue .... if you had no blooms.. and now you have some.. maybe it is just going to take a bit more time to get the show you want ...

that said... massive vegetative growth [greenery] at the expense of flowering .. MIGHT indicate excessive fertilizer too high in nitro .... which would lead you back to ignoring them, if you fertilize ..

the brown flowers MAY have gotten frosted at just the wrong time... here in MI .. we had an extremely cold may .... flowering shrubs went nuts this year.. but other things just didnt produce the show expected ...

good luck

ken

SG Turtle - I was posting the same time Ken was. I agree with what he said - now how confused are you?
In my personal experience I had problems establishing most of my LOV. Once established, they take off and can be very aggressive. His point about nitrogen wasn't one I had thought of, but something to pay attention to with your problem.

Hope you aren't too confused!

Seagreen, what's the soil like you're in? In one part of my property, other than trees (maples, basswood, ironwood) and weeds, the only thing that existed was LOV. The ground is clay, the winters are rough, the LOV was in pretty much full shade (now gets morning sun), the soil got no amendments, and the LOV was contending with tree roots (and some aggressive wild grape vine) all around and under. It suffered a bit a couple years ago until I actually pulled off and pulled back some of the 8 million leaves smothering it, but with that, it's fluorished and this year bloomed much better. It's not super-aggressive for me, but I'll say medium. I removed some for some new plantings and with the mulch around the new plants it hasn't yet sprung up around them. I transplanted some I pulled out to even more difficult spots in the maple roots, and while I don't see it spreading yet, it seems happy. Because of the new plantings nearby, I've been watering it regularly this season, but honestly, it hasn't seemed to make a difference good or bad to the LOV. I've never fertilized and other than the wild grape and the occasional strong sapling, it tends to win out over weeds.

So to sum up, I don't think it needs rich soil to live. Perhaps as others have said you should try neglecting it. :-)

Oh, and one more question - where'd you get them? Perhaps a friend whose are growing well could spare some for you and you can scrap your scraggly ones and start again.

Thank you all for your very helpful answers. Essentially I had been neglecting them. I planted them very near a big maple tree so they had to fight to compete for nutrients. I didn't fertilize. I got them from nurseries and they didn't look too great when I got them I have been unable to find lush ones. I do not know anyone who has them so that I could get some from a gardener. When I lived in Mt Pleasant I could and got some really healthy ones from a friend. I will look for a source with healthy plants and try transplanting my existing ones away from the 50 foot maple tree.

Thanks again!

Lol @ Ken...when I read the title of the post, my first thought was..."got any cement?" Mine are going like gangbusters in dry clay, mostly shade until the heat of the day, when they get blasted with hot sun. Go figure.
Meet me at Java Joe's in St. Ignace in September and I'll hook you up :)

in the alternative ....

replant them in the middle of your best garden ..... where all your other prizes are .... and within 2 years.. you will be cursing its invasive qualities.. lol ...

NOTHING THRIVES UNDER LARGE MAPLES .... trust me.. been there.. battled that ... i moved ... lol ...

ken

These are very odd plants. The ones that do the best for me are the ones growing on the south side of my house, horrible soil, no water. They bloom like crazy, but become toasted by midsummer. The ones in my shade garden with the other natives in nice organic soil have been struggling for years.

Kevin

Ken, mine are alive and comfy under a bunch of very large maples. First pic's back in early May or late April as they were starting to come up. As mentioned, I'd finally pulled back some leaves, so you can see dirt and lily sticks there. Pair of maples to the left (very tall), small one right in the middle of them, plenty more all around. Second pic is about a month ago. Nevermind that bald patch there in the center...but you can see they are pretty happy. I'm not necessarily loving them, and as you can see that area's not really developed yet, but they have certainly survived my 7+ years of neglect, lots of large and small maples (and others) and heavy soil...I am pleased to say, though, that the hostas in the second picture are starting to push out the lilies (the lilies must have crept down into what were once a border of hostas down that driveway).

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Those look great ankh, wish I could get mine like that.

oh my gawd ..... ankh ...

THEY ARENT LIVING UNDER THE MAPLES.. THEY ARE LIVING NEXT TO THE DRIVEWAY ....

what a hoot... frozen solid all winter... insulted presumably by salt falling off your snowy car.. snowblown or plowwed all winter ....

blistering heat from the blacktop ... note the angle of the sun in the pic ....

regardless... gorgeous setting... ken

Mine are living in clay soil under a maple tree on the west side of the house and get very little sun. They were there when I purchased the property, so I have no idea what variety they are or how long they've been there (the house was built in the mid '50's). Anyway, other than making sure they get watered thoroughly during dry spells I completely neglect them and they do great. I love bringing a bouquet into the house in spring (keeping them well out of reach of the cats and dog). The scent is pure heaven. Everyone I know that has them grows them in mostly to full shade, but obviously others who've posted here don't follow that rule either. I guess I'd go with the folks who said to get some starts from someone, then keep them in similar conditions. I transplanted some accidentally when I moved a peony and I will say that while they produced good foliage it took them about 2-3 years to start blooming, so maybe next year will be the charm. Good luck!

I just picked some up at a nursery that are big-leaved with berries! I didn't even know they got red berries. I planted these, and transplanted all my "dwindly ones" from under the norwary maple, over to a shady spot near some hostas and hollies. They seem better and are getting some new growth. I think my problem before was that the soil by the maple was all roots and dust. Not great to grow in; even all the worms head out to other parts of the yard.

Ugh - Norway maples are the worst. They cast a very dense shade, suck all the moisture out of the ground, and their roots are mildly allelopathic, which means they release a toxin that suppresses root growth of other plants. The only thing that is growing well under my one remaining Norway maple is Vinca minor!

There is a huge patch of LOV growing along the border with the neighbors - mostly on their side, but spreading over to my side. It is in mostly shade, with sandy loam. Doesn't get any attention at all. It's a little invasive, but boy does it smell nice when it's in bloom. I like to pick the flowers and put them in a small vase. Heavenly!

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I have mine growing beside the house, north side. Total shade all day, but soil has clay mixed in it, stays kind of cold damp most of the time. Thick leaves prevent soil getting dried out from wind. The LOV have been pretty happy there and expanded enough to surround my ferns. They bloom reliably, smell wonderful, with no other care. I know the leaves of Oaks have covered them in winter, probably adds organic matter along with their old leaves each fall.

This is a similar setting to what my mother had with her LOV at the old house. Lots of shade in summer, just ignored them except to pick the flowers each year.

I do have a couple other plantings around trees in the yard. Trees are Ironwood, Elm Family. LOV are getting going, expanding a bit each year. We just mow the ones who come out too far, so they stay contained. No bed edgings.

I had another bed of them out front, half-day sun under and around forsythia bushes and Oak trees. They didn't do at all well out there, even after several years. Very thin, scraggly, no flowers, no multiplying either. I dug them out and put them around the Ironwood tree, which also gets some sun and they have taken off.

Perhaps you could add some shredded fall leaves to the beds this year. Not whole maple though whole oak leaves might work well. Maples get mushy with wet weather, smother beds. Oaks stay crispy, even wet and snowy. Shreds work best as they fall down between growing plants. Leaf mulch would help keep damp too. Anyway, the leaves would attract worms to eat them, work the soil around the LOV plants, enriching the location for better flower growth. Could be they would take right off with just that bit of help, and just neglect them the rest of the time. See if it works for you. I like my LOV, sure sign of Spring each year.

Terrene, your LOV are beautiful. I had vinca minor by maple last year and it was "dwindly". I transplanted to a different area near a small japanese maple and it really took off. It's so healthy now and has spread all over.

Goodhors, thanks for the advice. My neighbor has oak leaves to spare in the fall. I will definitely use them! Last year I blew my maple leaves into my iris bed and fortunately the iris did not rot. They flowered beautifully their first year. I did have to remove the soggy leaves in the spring and expose the rhizomes though. I feel that it's likely that I will have good LOV next spring now that they're in a new home. I have read that they don't flower until the third year so maybe that was part of my problem too. I look forward to the day I might have to mow them because they are coming out into the grass!

Okay here goes! I bought 4 pink LOV's that were aparently mature. I received them in the mail with only 2 leaves on each of them and a bit weak from lack of water or too much heat during the time it too to get here. What I wanted to do is keep/grow them indoors thru the winter. Hope they would give flowers maybe. No rush though.

Anyways, I have had them for about a month now. I gave each one lots of space but the leaves are becoming all yellow and drying up :( im not sure if its because of the AC in the house makes it too cold or if I water them too much. I make sure the soil is always moist. They say to keep them in a shaded erea so I keep the window blinds shut so the sun doesnt get to them, or at least only a tad bit. I bought some high quality potting soil with those extra "vitamins/fertilizers". But now I just read that it might not be good for them.

They are suppose to be rares and cost quite alot. It's funny how so many people say they are terrible plants. I love them. Could someone please maybe give some advice on how I can keep them alive. Should I get an indoor plant light? I dont even care if they end up with only green leaves, I just dont want them to die lol

Thanks and Sorry about the extra long post >.

Do Lily of the valleys grow good in sand