Painted Trillium

White Trilliums have been a focus here for the 27 years that we have owned this land.  Their naturally occurring numbers have been extremely limited and we yearly add additional purchased plants with somewhat disappointing success.  We have encountered photos and written words focused on Painted Trilliums but have never seen them in the wild nor in stock at nearby native plant businesses.  Four or five years ago we stumbled upon a Tennessee based mail order dealer that offered this plant for sale at a somewhat reasonable price.  Six plants were Fall ordered since overwintering new transplants gives them the best chance of survival.  The photo shows that exactly half of the plants remain alive.  That is close to our success rate for the more commonly seen native whites.

The year following transplanting did not show any signs of growth.  A phone call to the dealer revealed a no show was a common experience and that I should give them another year.  He promised replacement if nothing appeared during their second season here.  I was certain that I was being hustled but accepted his promise.  This place of business remains in operation but will now not ship to New York State.  I expect that the issue is sales tax not my struggle with his plants.  So the present appearance of four plants will hold my attention for as long as we remain on this land.

The lesson learned is the pace of growth among many wild native plants.  Seven years is often listed as the time required from planting seed to seeing a flower.  Our transplants may open their buds this year just slightly faster than a plant grown from seed.  Deer dancing among our native plants may have diminished the number viable plants so a wire cage now protects these highly prized plants.  If flowers occur here, that should happen soon.  We may see White, Stinking Benjamin and Painted Trillium flowers fairly close together in our woodland garden this year. With a little luck today's warm rain will speed the process along.  We are watching in breathless anticipation!
 

Worth The Wait

These are the days when anxious eyes make daily searches for native woodland plants that have been moved into our gardens.  If there is a more brazen presentation than these Trout Lilies, we do not know such a plant.  These yellow petals were closed tightly in response to last night's freezing temperatures.  In the heat of today they are thrust way back, boldly revealing the sexual parts of each flower.  The long brown colored rods are evenly split between male and female.  The longer ones with the end to end groove are female.  The groove will collect pollen.  The shorter thicker grainy rods are male and we have yet to see an insect move the pollen from grainy to groove.  Wind may well be the pollinating force.  We have discovered that Trout Lilies are wildly invasive and have crowded out other prized plants.

Finally my leg injuries have healed and working while on hands and knees is now possible.  Nearby oak trees had a great growing year and their fallen leaves may well have shaded out parts of the Arbutus plants.  Hand picking leaf litter from a native plant seems to be a contradiction on some level but these transplanted treasures continue to receive tender care.  For the first time today we saw dead Arbutus stems and leaves.  Death must be a part of the natural order but these plants must outlast me so perhaps overprotective care continues.

The wire cage that keeps marauding woodchucks and rabbits on the outside has been replaced so these plants are now free to generously grow.  We intend to take cuttings from the edge in an attempt to create new plants taking only growth that would be otherwise eaten.  Failure is seldom the last word here and we now know that strong rooting compound is needed to establish new plants.

Tucked in among the speckled Trout Lily leaves are newly emerging Trillium plants.  Root removal of the encroaching plants will not be undertaken but leaf pruning is a definite possibility.  For now the close side by side placement seems to be working but there is no question that the Trilliums are the desired plants.  So we will meddle with these native beauties again as we transplanted both here.  There is always tuition for everything we learn but we will try to avoid the loss of the Trilliums at least in the short run.