Trillium Cultivation in the Garden

• Trilliums flourish in a garden when planted in light, rich, well-drained organic soils in light shade. Trilliums are slow growers and can take more than a decade to reach maturity. Many trillium species take at least two years for the seed to germinate. The flowers bloom in the spring and are pollinated by a variety of insects, which are specific to each species. Trilliums have few if any pest challenges outside of deer predation in urban and suburban landscapes. Slow-growing, small and care-free once established, trilliums fit well with most shade perennials, including hostas and ferns.
  
  

Trillium Biology

• Trilliums are rhizomatous plants with stems that are technically scapes and leaves that are botanically bracts. The true leaves are wrapped around the rhizome below the soil line. The signature three-part leaf bracts are a tell-tale identification aid, looking in many cases like giant three-leaf clovers. The seeds of trilliums are dispersed by ants, which are affected by chemical compounds in the seed that induce a frenzy in the ants; once the ants discard the translocated seeds the seeds germinate in the new location.
  
  

Harvesting Trilliums

• The slow regeneration of trilliums in a natural setting and the ease by which the growth and expansion of a trillium colony can be negatively affected results in public policy in many areas that discourages or outlaws digging and harvesting of many trillium species. Seed collection of trilliums with permission of a landowner can be one way to increase a collection. If collecting trillium seeds, avoid collecting more than 10 percent of the seeds in any one area, and find new areas for collecting the following year.
  
  

Trillium Species

• The painted trillium, Trillium undulatum, has a white, purple-veined flower. The white to pale pink flowers of the nodding trillium, Trillium cernuum, seem to hide below the leaves. The spectacular great white wakerobin, Trillium grandiflorum, lights up the spring landscape. The great white trillium has flowers that can reach almost 3 inches across, demanding attention in any garden. The stinking Benjamin or red wakerobin, Trillium erectum, has extraordinarily beautiful red to purple flowers that effectively announce the arrival of spring.