Friday, April 3, 2009

'Sweet Betsy' was voted the Trillium most likely to seed around....but you didn't hear that from me

And shes beautiful. Her flowers aren't spectacular, but look at those leaves. And she's easy......to propagate; that's why this is the Trillium you are most likely to encounter in commerce. If you count wild collected possibly Trillium grandiflorum wins. Trillium cuneatum is technically a "spring ephemeral" which means that she goes dormant by May usually. Last year some clumps went on a bit longer.

Much more difficult to acquire than to cultivate, Sweet Betsy does prefer an organic loamy soil to clay but is otherwise pretty easygoing, growing happily in full deciduous shade. Soil moisture is required, but because she grows basically from February to May, supplemental watering is rarely required; we almost always get adequate rainfall up to May! She doesn't care if the soil dries out later; this clump is growing inside the drip-line of a giant Beech. Beeches are shallow rooted and notoriously difficult to grow herbaceous plants under.

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