Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Trillium Simile... A Real Sweetie


Trillium simile, seen here last May in our garden, is the jeweled wakerobin, or also called sweet white wakerobin, due to the sweet smell of its flower. In nature, it is found only in the Appalachians in the four state area of the Carolinas, Tennessee, and Georgia. Its white flowers are large, with widely flaring petals. This is a big trillium in all its parts, with large, distinctly veined leaves, and is quite vigorous.
When trilliums are called shade plants, it's not just an idle observation; the variegated-leaf species (especially our midwest endemic prairie trillium, T. recurvatum) seem to tolerate a bit more light, but the solid green-leafed varieties are usually very sun-sensitive. Here in our south-facing valley, with our hot midwest sun, even an hour of full sun will send most green-leafed trilliums to their knees.
More than any other species, I've needed to site trilliums in perfect spots... yet, also more than any other genus, they're worth the bother.
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// posted by IBOY @ 6:44 AM
Comments:
A simply lovely bloom. :)
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : January 21, 2009
 
Beautiful flower. Here in western Oregon our forests are sprinkled with a trillium species. It's always fun to see one--kind of like the thrill of hunting down Easter eggs except that we don't take the trillium.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : January 21, 2009
 
Gosh this one and the one yesterday are nice. I will have to keep my eye for a source. And then there is the question of where can it go.
# posted by Blogger philip Mears : January 21, 2009
 
Nancy... glad you like my trillium.

Grace... you probably are seeing T. petiolatum; maybe parviflorum if you're in NW Oregon.

Philip... I should have some seedlings down the road; you can squeeze in one more plant (maybe)!

Don
# posted by Blogger IBOY : January 21, 2009
 
My goodness, that's a smile creator! :-) (FYI, when I read your post title, I thought it was Triliium Smile... a Real Sweetie.) :-)
# posted by Blogger Shady Gardener : January 21, 2009
 
I have seen these in some of the woods around here. Very rarely in gardens.
# posted by Blogger EAL : January 21, 2009
 
Shady... it is a happy plant :o)

EAL... they're not very common in gardens. I'm pretty confident mine was raised from seed, so I felt comfortable putting it in the garden.

Don
# posted by Blogger IBOY : January 21, 2009
 
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