Lily of the valley · Moscow, Moscow, Russia
When to sow lily of the valley in Moscow
Main outdoor window
7 Oct - 18 Apr
The window this page is built around.
Timed from last spring frost
2 May
In Moscow, on your chosen risk.
Ready to pick
1 May - 30 Jun
If you plant at the start of the window.
The average last frost. Half of all years are later than this.
Step by step in Moscow
Each window is a range, not a single day. Earlier in the range buys you a longer season; later in it buys you a safer one.
Plant the pips
7 Oct - 18 Apr
Any time the plant is dormant and the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged: after leaf fall in autumn, or at the end of winter before growth restarts.
In flower
1 May - 30 Jun
Lily of the valley through the year
Against the frost risk in Moscow
Why these dates
Plant the pips - single-budded root divisions - while dormant in autumn or very early spring, 3cm deep with the bud just below the surface. Site it where spreading is welcome; it is difficult to remove once established and will out-compete smaller shade plants.
Hardy to about -35C and needs a cold winter to flower, which is why it performs poorly in mild-winter climates. All parts are seriously poisonous, including the water in a vase of cut stems.
Lily of the valley are planted once and then left in place, so there is no sowing offset to resolve. What matters in Moscow is the shape of the year: this crop is dormant through the winter and is planted while it sleeps, any time between leaf fall in autumn and the restart of growth in spring, so long as the ground is neither frozen nor waterlogged. That is why the window below spans the cold months rather than sitting in the middle of the growing season.
Hardiness is not the obstacle here. Moscow is zone 4b, comfortably inside the range this crop is rated for, so an established plant should come through an average winter without protection.
Also in Moscow
Other flowers to time
Growing lily of the valley in Moscow
When should I plant lily of the valley in Moscow?
Aim for 7 Oct - 18 Apr in an average year. If you would rather not gamble on the weather, wait until 23 Sep - 4 May - by then frost has finished in nine years out of ten.
When will lily of the valley be ready to harvest in Moscow?
Expect to start picking around 1 May - 30 Jun, based on 150 to 190 days to maturity from the planting date calculated for this location.
How much frost will lily of the valley tolerate?
Hardy to about -35C and needs a cold winter to flower, which is why it performs poorly in mild-winter climates. All parts are seriously poisonous, including the water in a vase of cut stems.