Gardening Container Gardens Container Plans & Ideas Make a Lily-of-the-Valley Pocket Pot Get a jump on spring—and the thrill of planting—with an early spring flower show. By Kate Carter Frederick Kate Carter Frederick For 30 years, Kate Carter Frederick has served as an on-staff editor for the Better Homes and Gardens special interest magazines as well as a freelance editor, project manager, writer, producer, and garden/plant stylist for the magazines, books, brand licensing, and custom publishing groups of Meredith Corp. Her work for hundreds of magazines, books, and websites spans the realms of gardening, outdoor living, DIY, food, crafts, decorating, remodeling, building, and holiday celebrations. Learn about BHG's Editorial Process Updated on June 23, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Project Overview Working Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 2 hours Skill Level: Kid-friendly Lily-of the-valley (Convallaria majus) is an old-fashioned favorite known for its fragrant white flowers in May. But you can start the plants indoors in winter or early spring and bring them into bloom weeks ahead of the gardening season by using mail-order, prechilled lily-of-the-valley rootstock or rhizomes, called pips. For an especially attractive display, follow our step-by-step instructions for planting the pips in a strawberry pot, which has plantable pockets that enable you to grow multiple plants in a single pot. Or plant in a container at least 6 inches deep to provide adequate room for the pips. What You'll Need Equipment / Tools 1 Pruners 1 Scissors 1 Garden trowel Materials 1 36–48 lily-of-the-valley pips 1 Potting mix 1 2-gallon pocket or strawberry pot 1 Coarse sand 1 Sphagnum peat moss 1 2×8-inch section of drainage material Instructions Prep Pips Soak pips in lukewarm water for two hours. Moisten potting mix with warm water. Cover the pot's bottom with a 1- to 2-inch layer of sand. Add potting mix to just below the pot's lowest pockets. Trim the roots to at least 4 inches with sharp, clean pruners. Plant Pips in Pot Place pips in the pot with the roots lying on the potting mix and tips barely emerging from a pocket. Fill the first pocket row with pips. Press small handfuls of dampened sphagnum peat moss between pips and pocket tops. Cover roots with potting mix. Add Drainage Tube Use scissors to cut a 2×8-inch section of drainage material, and stand it in the center of the pot to create a channel that will facilitate watering and drainage. (Alternatively, make a channel by rolling wire mesh into a 2-inch-diameter tube and filling it with gravel.) Finish Potting Finish planting any remaining pockets and the top opening of the pot. Cover the roots with potting mix. Slowly water the top plantings, allowing moisture to channel throughout the container garden and into the pot's pockets.Editor's Tip: As the season progresses, your soil may leach out of a strawberry planter—this is normal. Simply refill the planter as needed.