7 tips for growing hardy and beautiful trilliums

Trillium is a precious part of the natural heritage of North America. Once you've seen these wildlings growing in the forest, you'll want them to grow in your garden. Here's how.

• Trillium plants have clusters of three leaves and three-petalled flowers.
• The leaves may be mottled in silver, bronze, purple or shades of green.
• The flowers range from white and pale yellow to a deep ruby red.
• Plant these natural beauties in drifts among asarum, Solomon's seal, ferns and woodland phlox.
• Trilliums bloom in the spring and become dormant by midsummer.

• Trilliums are too delicate to ship and many are protected in the wild. This means you should buy them only from a reputable local plant nursery.
• In general, nursery trilliums show remarkable vigour under local growing conditions.

• A good choice for the eastern parts of the country is the great white trillium (Tillium grandiflorum), which is good to Zone 4. It features large, showy flowers, usually white to pale pink, with highly recurved petals.
• 'Flore Pleno' is a double-flowered form, while 'Rosea' is pink.
• Westerners should consider T. ovatum, good to Zone 6. This species has smaller leaves and flowers with petals that aren't recurved.
• No matter where you live, follow the advice of wildflower experts in your area.

• To keep trilliums happy, give them moist, shady, woodland conditions.
• Set out container-grown plants in late winter or early spring and keep the soil moist.
• Expect little from new plantings the first year.
• Leave the site undisturbed after the plants go dormant in summer. They'll emerge first thing the next spring, ready to bask in late-winter sun and flower before the trees leaf out.

• Dividing trilliums is tricky and best left to professionals.
• The procedure involves nicking the root while the parent plant is still in the ground. This coaxes it to separate into two plants and, after several months, cutting them apart and replanting them.
• Under the best conditions, trilliums take two years or more after division to attain flowering size.

• Try not to move trilliums once they're planted.
• There's no such thing as a crowded trillium colony. The plants look most attractive when several stems are clustered close together.
• If transplanting becomes necessary because of a shift in your garden's location, dig and transplant trilliums in early spring.
• Move the plant with the soil packed around the roots to minimize trauma.

• This otherwise tough native is nearly impervious to pests or diseases, but can be nibbled by slugs and snails.
• Hand-pick and dispose of these night-feeding pests at dusk or set saucers of beer nearby to lure and drown them.

Trillium is a difficult plant to cultivate, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Give them the attention they need and buy from someone who knows what to do. The results will be much more beautiful.