Trilliums, one of my favourite spring flowering plants. Up early in the spring, flowering by mid spring, then fades away by summer. It may not be exotic for North Americans, being plants that come from there, but it certainly is exotic here.
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| Trillium sulcatum |
It's not the easiest of plants to establish and it can be very slow to bulk up. But well worth persevering with as we've seen so many public and private gardens that have been successful with them. Bulking up and doing so well for a stunning spring display.
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| Trillium sulcatum |
The ones we have planted out before are still relatively struggling, showing up but not with the strongest of presence. But at least they are bulking up, albeit slowly.
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| Trillium simile |
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| Trillium sessile |
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| Trillium erectum (left), Trillium erectum x flexipes (right) |
We bought several Trilliums last spring but never got the chance to plant them out. So they stayed in their pots and for the rest of the season got neglected. Not that there was much to neglect as they did go dormant by summer but the pots dried out on many occasions for days, and intermittently soaked for days too when the trays they were sat on was filled with rain water that we didn't tip away.
I thought they won't show up being the potential sensitive plants that they are. So when they showed up this spring I was so pleased. And they've done even better despite all of that. This weekend was the time to finally plant them out
Hopefully they'll do even better now that we've set them free. They'll be going dormant soon but they'll be something to look forward to next spring, cross fingers!
Mark :-)
This gardening blog follows our journey as we create our Tropical and Exotic themed garden. We hope you'll enjoy the journey as much as we do. We started our Exotic Garden in 2005 and this site will show its development, as well as our travels, both abroad and within the UK to gardens, nurseries and friends.
Your collection of trilliums is quite lovely. I like trilliums so much that when I saw a stand of native Trillium cuneatum in my woodlands, I created a whole new path just so I could enjoy them more easily. Now my path has native azaleas, daffodils, hostas and ferns to accompany the spring beauties. All for the love of trilliums!
ReplyDeleteWe love Trillium cuneatum too Debs, not surprised at all that you created a path especially to enjoy them. It must look great in the spring I can imagine!
DeleteThat burgundy one would make an excellent addition to my red bed but, although Trilliums are native to north America, they're unfortunately not at all suited to southern California.
ReplyDeleteLove the rich burgundy colour of that trillium Kris!
DeleteI had two, a white that died and a burgundy that is now two years old. They are beautiful plants, but very slow indeed to multiply. Good luck with yours!
ReplyDeleteSlightly frustrating they are Jessica but well worth persevering with :)
DeleteI love Trilliums too. Even though I'm in North America, I never tire of them. I have a few different kinds, and they are taking a few years to really get to the flowering stage. How very lucky that yours came back even though they were still in their nursery pots.
ReplyDeleteReally pleased they came back Alison, despite the neglect we gave them last year
DeleteSo unsuitable for me, but the are lovely in your garden.
ReplyDeleteHope they do even better now that they're planted out :)
DeleteDon't I feel like the loser, native to my area and I don't even have one!
ReplyDeletePut some in your garden Loree :)
DeleteBeautiful. I saw a bulk planting of them in Berlin last year and have been meaning to buy some - a dark red especially. Dave
ReplyDeleteDark red ones look great David, with their rich colouring and all!
DeleteHello Mark and Gaz:
ReplyDeleteWe have always thought of Trilliums as amongst the aristocrats of spring flowers and whilst they might well thrive in their natural habitat [what does not?], they are by no means the easiest of plants to establish in the average British garden. We did have some success with them but they are, as you say, slow to establish and they never performed for us in the way in which we should have wished.
Hi Jane and Lance,
DeleteGood to hear your experience about this group of plants which has a reputation of being a prima donna. I remember going to a talk done by Kevin Hughes who is very knowledgeable about trilliums and he mentioned about several issues existing as to why they are hard to establish here. A group of these issues centre around the way they were collected across the pond and imported here. Fascinating talk and gave lots of insight as to why they don't do well here when potentially they should with ease.
I like trilliums a lot. But as they don´t sell them in Spain and they are said to be difficult, I haven´t tried them. I hope yours show up next year as beautiful as this year!!!
ReplyDeleteMight be worth trying from seed Lisa although it will take even longer to establish.
DeleteBought Trillium sessile yesterday at local show. I asked the nurseryman who was also an exhibitor for tips and he said make sure you feed them every year.
ReplyDeleteFine choice there Helen, with their pretty mottled leaves. Good to hear they appreciate spring feeding too
DeleteTrilliums are thrilling, even here where they're native we love them. I have a few that have indeed taken a while to bulk up but I look forward to their spring show each year.
ReplyDeleteSlow to bulk up but so worth it Peter! Glad to hear they still excite you :)
DeleteI've never considered trilliums for my garden as the soil is so heavy I wasn't sure if it was a wise investment. Lovely to see them thriving despite all of the neglect last year and I'm sure they're settling in to their new homes and enjoying bit of root run ... finally :)
ReplyDeleteWe hope so Rosie :) crossing our fingers that they will do even better, bulk up much quicker now that they're on the ground.
DeleteYou're right: not exotic here, but treasured all the same.
ReplyDeleteA treasure they are Ricki, a nice 'gift' from across the pond!
DeleteThey really are wonderful plants, I was amused to read on PlantPosting's blog that she had them growing wild in her woodland.
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