Trillium 2016

[t00lie]

Germination activity is currently occurring in numerous T. pots in the shade house of seed sown at varying depths    .

Home- T. chloropetalum x albidum .(maroon -white centre), sown Jan 2015 sown at 30mm .

 NZTG- T. erectum ,(pale lemon-wine centre), sown July 2015 at 90mm .

Cheers Dave.

[Carolyn]

That's interesting. Do you think sowing at depth gives a more stable environment? I am surprised that your seed is germinating at this time of year, a month after mid summer. Mine always germinate in spring (or even in winter this year - I spotted seedlings of T chloropetalum on 1st January. Whether they will survive the current frosty weather is another matter.

[Susan Band]

Dave, where do you get 90cm deep pots? 

[t00lie]

Dave, where do you get 90cm deep pots? 

Lol    Thanks Susan I'll make an amendment now.

Carolyn I'll make some comments tonight when I have more time.

Cheers Dave.

[t00lie]

That's interesting. Do you think sowing at depth gives a more stable environment?

 I am surprised that your seed is germinating at this time of year, a month after mid summer. Mine always germinate in spring (or even in winter this year - I spotted seedlings of T chloropetalum on 1st January. Whether they will survive the current frosty weather is another matter.

Hello Carolyn

Yes I think so if the pots were outside and exposed to all the elements and of course
Ian Y has documented his experiences of sowing some bulb seed at depth .

However my curiousity was intially based on my understanding that in the wild ants can take the seed away into their nests to feed on ,so in the shadehouse I've played around and have successfully germinated T. seed for a number of years at varying depths from surface sowing ,(of T. rivale ) and other T. species right down to 100 mm as an experiment .

Whether sowing ,say at 100 mm has an effect on rhizome size and eventual time to reach flowering because of the energy required for growth to appear above the surface each season I have not yet formed an opinion on although I have mature rhizomes planted in the garden that flower each year at 140 mm depth ...........

This is about the normal time Trillium seed underground gemination happens around here although for some species this occurs in early summer however it will not be until they experience a cool period that the above ground ,green grass like cotyledon growth appears in July .

Am currently starting to harvest 'home' seed  which has been very slow to mature this season .......

[Carolyn]

Thanks for this, Dave, I will try various depths with seeds from the seedex. I'm also going to try treating some with GA3 which a friend has kindly given to me. Perhaps it will help with the seedex seeds which have been dry stored and don't germinate as readily as fresh garden seed?

[Lesley Cox]

Have just been reminded that I have 4 pods of Trillium maculatum under protection from the birds which last year stole every pod just BEFORE it was ready to pick. These little bags have been a great find and I do thank was it Anne W? for the idea. I've been able to protect seeds from as tiny as Soldanella pusilla to as large as Iris bucharica and as elusive as Euphorbia myrsinites from loss due to premature fall or depredation from birds. I've just taken the trillium pods now, and there are maybe 125 seeds in the 4 pods but boy! do they smell FOUL?!!!

I'm assuming Dave, that the germination you are seeing now is from seeds sown LAST summer? Not within the last few weeks?

[t00lie]

I'm assuming Dave, that the germination you are seeing now is from seeds sown LAST summer? Not within the last few weeks?

Found another 15 pots today with recent activity of seed sown Jan/Feb 2015 as well as NZTG seed sown July 2015 Lesley.

[Thorkild Godsk]

Trillium.
 I would like if there is anyone who can name this Trillium. Thanks in advance.

 Thorkild. DK

[Carolyn]

Trillium time again!
First of all, Trillium nivale, which lives in a pot, but some day I will pluck up the courage to plant it out in the garden.
Then three photos of T. rivale, grown from seed from the SRGC seedex. The seed was sown Jan 2011, germinated spring 2012 and the young plants are now flowering for the first time. It's exciting to see the variation in colouring from one batch of seeds. My favourite is the first rivale photo, with the good pink veining.
I have several pots of T. rivale seedlings at various stages. I had a look at all the labels today. Seed of T. rivale which was freshly harvested in summer and sown immediately germinated the following spring. Dried seed from the seedex (soaked for 24 hrs to rehydrate) sown in January usually takes just over a year to germinate. I wish all trilliums were as easy as that!

[Chris Johnson]

Very nice, Carolyn - mine are still at seedling stage.

My favourite is 'pink freckles'.

[David Nicholson]

I don't grow many Trillium but here is one growing in the darkest, dampest part of my garden. I bought it from Keith Wiley as a small plant about three years ago and it flowered last year for the first time.

Trillium kurabayashii

[Herman Mylemans]

Here in Belgium the trilliums are starting to bloom. The first one is Trillium nivale.

[Carolyn]

Herman, what a lovely big clump of T nivale! Are they growing outside? Under what conditions?

[Herman Mylemans]

Yes Carolyn, they are growing outside in humus rich soil in semi-shade. This one stand under a tree (from our neighbour, leaves appear very late), so it is a very cool position in summer and now it gets a lot of light. Another plant is standing in more shade and flowers always much later (about a month). Once they are settled they dislike removing.