Trillium Means Spring

Signs of early spring are appearing everywhere. Crocus are flowering and early daffodils are in bloom where I live. Abelias are showing tiny leaves, buds are swelling on the Fothergillas, and maple trees are starting to show a red cast. One of my earliest spring indicators is the emergence of Sweet Little Betsy, Trillium cuneatum, pronounced TRIL-ee-um kew-nee-AH-tum. Other common names include Purple Toadshade, Wake Robin, and Bloody Butcher.

My Trillium originated with my husband’s grandmother, a remarkable gardener. My family enjoyed them for years when we lived at New Hope Farm. I dug the rhizomes and moved them to our new property three years ago. All internet gardening sites say that Trillium “do not transplant easily.” I carefully lifted a rootball about the size of a regulation basketball, and my plants never missed a beat. When our home renovation construction began near their location, I decided to divide the clump and keep some in a container in a site well away from backhoe and concrete trucks. This week, I am happy to report, I spotted healthy new growth and numerous buds on the rhizomes I potted as a precaution as well as those I left in the original location. The potted insurance plants will be relocated to a new, in-ground home during the coming week.

Sweet Little Betsy is native to the southeast. Plants have three mottled leaves and three petals, usually a deep wine red. Other species have white, yellow, and even pink flowers. They thrive in moist shade and enjoy the humus-rich soil of woodlands. Plants are winter-hardy in zones 5-8. They prefer an acidic to neutral soil.

You may have heard that one should never pick the flowers of a Trillium or it will die. I believed this until I researched this plant for today’s blog and found this folklore is total nonsense. If you pick the leaves, you may damage the plant by preventing it from generating food storage through photosynthesis, but you most likely won’t kill it. Trilliums are ephemeral, meaning they go dormant after they flower. Their food-making period is brief, so they need all their leaves to make the process efficient. Picking the flower may mean it won’t bloom in the coming year, but it will not kill the plant. So much for hearsay advice!

Trillium flowers smell bad (my opinion) but they produce early nectar for pollinators. Seeds are spread by ants. Plant reproduction via seeds is a slow process. It can take a year or two for seeds to germinate, and up to five years or even longer for new plants to flower. Division is much faster, but plants need a year or two to recover after separation. Lift plants carefully, as the rhizomes are brittle. The fleshy white roots are connected to the rhizome at a single point near the stem, technically, a “scape.” The trio of leaves immediately under the flowers aren’t really leaves, but “bracts.”

Some sites say that the leaves of young Trillium are edible, but other sites indicate they are mildly toxic and can sicken pets. Deer relish them without any bad effects.

Sweet Little Betsy, Trillium cuneatum, safely survived during our construction by moving to a container in our woodlands.

Delicate Trout Lily for Earliest Spring Bloom

In late winter, stumbling across a blooming patch of Trout Lily is an unexpected bonus,  like discovering a $20 bill in the pocket of a rarely-worn jacket. Erythronium americanum, Trout Lily, is sometimes called the Yellow Dogtooth Violet or Adder’s Tongue. It would take an active imagination to conjure the delicate yellow flowers with brown or bronze reverse into a fish, canine teeth, or a snake’s tongue.

This lovely ephemeral is native to the eastern US. “Ephemeral” means “fleeting,” which is exactly how this plant behaves. It blooms in early spring before tree leaves emerge, about the same time as Crocus. Soon after flowering, the plant produces seeds and then withers away. The seeds will eventually develop into corms, a type of bulb. They are sold as corms, not seeds. Plant in fall for best results. Most corms prefer shallow planting, but Trout Lily likes a deep hole (five inches) which seems unusual for such a small bulb. The seeds are spread around by ants.

Plants thrive in moist, shady woodlands with acidic soils. It takes a year or two for juvenile plants to start blooming. Juveniles are easy to spot since they only produce a single leaf rather than the paired leaves of mature specimens. Plants reach a mere six inches in height, with the bloom stems slightly taller. Older plants may stop flowering if the bulbs become too congested. In this case, lift and divide just as the plants begin to go dormant.

Trout Lily leaves have a mottled appearance. Flower petals curl back toward the stem, described by botanists as recurving. Blooms are one- to three-inches in diameter. Flowers contain six yellow stamens and reddish-brown anthers. There is a less common white form, E. albidum, whose white flower petals are flushed with lavender on the reverse side. Adder’s Tongue, E. propullans, is  a pink-flower form found only in Minnesota. Strangely, it bears a small bulblet halfway up the stem.

Trout Lily looks delicate but it is quite sturdy, making its appearance early in the year when frosts and freezes are still common. The flowers attract bees. The corms, unfortunately, are tasty to small forest critters although deer usually leave them alone. Protect them with a circle fence of buried fine-mesh wire or a gravel moat. Since I have both cats and dogs, I researched their toxicity. One source said that the bulbs were edible, with a cucumber-like taste. Another said that the bulbs were an emetic (makes one vomit). No further testing on my part! I opted for the protection of the wire mesh to prevent my pets from tasting.

The bronze backs of the Trout Lily petals are evident in this photo. Note the mottled leaves.

Trout Lily bloom detail