While wandering through Noel Button’s garden at Gravelly Beach, ‘the wonderland of new and unusual plants’, I was introduced to the mysterious trilliums in person having only seen them as photographs in herbaceous plant catalogues.
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These plants are not so common in gardens but the gardeners who do grow them are often held in awe, such is their mystique. Noel assured me that they are not difficult to cultivate if given the right conditions.
Trilliums are rhizome-rooted spring flowering woodland perennials native to the Appalachian Mountains, the Pacific North West of America and the woods of Japan, China and Russia.
The name trillium means triple and is a reminder that the plant’s floral parts are in threes - the leaves are in threes and so are the petals and sepals.
Trilliums, being woodland plants prefer deep, fertile, humus-rich, moist soil in dappled shade, in particular under deep-rooted trees and large shrubs that leaf up late such as magnolias and dogwoods.
A member of the lily family, trilliums are best thought of as a bulb, appearing in spring to flower then dying back in autumn. They are dormant in winter but jump into growth come spring. Over time the rhizomes spread to form dense clumps.
Before planting trilliums dig in plenty of well-rotted compost into the top layer of soil. Make sure they are not crowded out by faster-growing plants. Trilliums can be a little slow to establish but patience will be well and truly rewarded as trilliums can be regarded as an investment rather than a short-term, easily-forgotten planting.
To obtain trilliums you may have to contact a nursery specialising in rare and unusual plants. Some of the most popular types available include T. grandiflorum which has beautiful pure white flowers that change to rosy pink as the flower matures while T. g roseum has pretty pink blooms and T. g ‘Flore Pleno’ has stunning double flowers.
Trillium sessile is a low-growing type with red-purple or green flowers; T. erectum has bright green leaves with red and green flowers; T. rivale is a tiny form growing to about five centimetres high and T. cuneatum has attractive mottled grey-green folilage and burgundy to yellow-green flowers.
Propagation is usually by division or from seed. Split and transplant rhizomes in autumn spacing 10 to 15 centimetres apart, then cover to a depth equal to about three times the diameter of the bulb. Mulch in autumn with compost or leaf mould.
We are lucky here in Tasmania as our climate produces a cool, moist root run which is regarded as essential for the successful growing of these often-fussy plants.
Trilliums will reward your patience if the right cultural requirements are provided and they are left undisturbed to form large clumps. Once establish they will be the talking point for visitors to the garden due to their unusual beauty and rarity.
Diary
February 3-4: The Launceston Horticultural Society will hold its Dahlia, Gladioli, Lilium and Begonia show at St. Ailbe’s Hall, Margaret Street, Launceston.
February 10: The Westbury Garden Club’s ‘Summer Flower Show’ at the Westbury Town Hall, Lyall Street, Westbury 1.30pm to 4pm. This is always a great one-day show displaying the flowers of summer in this picturesque, country town. Floral art, roses, orchids, dahlias, gladioli, liliums, hydrangeas and begonias feature along with the many summer flowering plants and shrubs. Another drawcard of this show is its delicious, homemade afternoon teas available for $5. Entry is $2.
Daily: The Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden, Romaine, Burnie. Open from 9am to 5pm. Tea room open from 10am to 4pm.