| |
 Spring fever is upon us. For gardeners, our winter respite is over. The first green shoots of spring have begun. In my wildflower garden, spring beauties and hepaticas will vie for the first bloom of spring. Soon the trilliums will begin to break their winter dormancy. Trilliums tend to be one of the stars in the wild garden, always attracting attention and fascination.
One group of trilliums is called Sessile Trilliums. These are characterized by the flower growing directly above the whorl of 3 leaves, where other trilliums have their flowers on a stem that rises above the leaves. Many sessile trilliums have beautifully mottled leaves. Various shades of green can be displayed on a single plant, from a light gray-green to dark greens, sometimes with purple touches. The most vivid coloration is seen when the leaves first unfold. The colors are arranged in myriad patterns, each plant different from the next. Like a fingerprint, the leaf colors and patterns seem to be repeated each year for the same plant. This dynamic leaf coloration makes these plants extremely interesting for the entire growing season. The intensity of the colors fade as the season progresses and in some cases can be almost uniform green by fall. Although the foliage is of prime interest, they also produce attractive blooms which are generally red/maroon/purple, to yellow and green, dependent on the species.
Wildflowers will be offering 3 species of sessile trillium in 2006, all are at least winter hardy into Zone 5. These are:
Cuneate Trillium(Trillium cuneatum), one of the largest of the eastern  sessile trilliums. Its leaves are mottled with large Red/maroon blooms, sometimes with a pleasant fragrance. The fragrance in trilliums is strongest when the bloom first opens. (It also requires some effort to get your nose down to the subtle fragrance!) This trillium often produces multiple stems. We have a plant in the garden here at Wildflowers that emerges with mottled iridescent purple leaves, an awesome coloration!
Prairie Trillium (Trillium recurvatum), one of the easiest to identify  because of the unique trait of the sepals re-curving back upon the plant stem. This is a mid-sized trillium with leaf mottling and red/maroon blooms. Prairie Trillium is the best vegetatively multiplying trillium I’ve grown. It can produce many offsets over time, resulting in a small colony of plants. It's native range extends north into southern Michigan.
Yellow Trillium (Trillium luteum), known to anyone who visits the  smokies in spring. The Smoky Mountains is the heart of this trillium’s range. Yellow Trillium has leaf mottling and blooms from clear yellow to light green with a light lemon scent. It often produces extra stems.
|
