moving trillium

15 years ago

I have a border which is along a cool stone wall - north facing with some sun and wildflowers such as bloodroot, sweet woodruff have done well here along with things like astilbes and heucheras, etc. In this border there are three kinds of trillium and while they don't spread, they come back each year and seem healthy.

On a couple of other places on my property I have trilliums which I did not plant and they are in shade but pretty poor and dry soil. I think in one place - a leafy but quite dry understory area - the trillium colony (burgundy red ones)is actually shrinking. This year there are seven plants, far fewer than the last couple of years. A large tree fell right in this area a year ago and they haven't done as well since.

My question is - can and should I dig at least a couple of these and bring them into the border where they might have more moist and slightly richer soil?

As for the other two lone specimens ( one white, one small pale pink) - they are in pretty barren soil surrounded simply by pine needles. I'm thinking that perhaps they might also be moved to a more hospitible environment. Or perhaps I should make changes to the soil around them right where they are as they are in a nice spot visually. (The red ones are down a bank and not visible)

I would appreciate ideas on this - including, if it is wise to move them, should it be done just as they are finished flowering and before they go dormant?

thanks for all advice

Deborah

Comments (5)

ontheteam
15 years ago
I am no expert but: I'd move them.I'd try and wait till they are dormant IE the fall. Since the burgundy ones are declining you don't have anything to loose!
Iris GW
15 years ago
I would move them in late spring as they are fading. That way you know where they are. I also am planning to move a few of mine because they are in decline (there were six of them last year, only 3 came up this year).
Related Discussions
Trillium Questions
Q
Comments (3)
Probably Trillium erectum....It is a native wildflower but, unless your house was built in a wooded area, it was most likely planted - perhaps from wild stock from a nearby woods....? They will go dormant in the summer. If you want to move it, wait until it is dormant and then dig up the root, which looks vaguely bulb-like. If it's happy where it is, I'd be inclined to leave it rather than risk losing it in a move.
...See More
Moving Trillium catesbaei
Q
Comments (2)
Thanks for the info Esh. Mine have yellow stamens. The yard itself is pretty wild. I think the woods behind are trying to reclaim it. It was a garden at one time because I've found plant labels and other gardening stuff out there. I cant post pics because I still haven't found my camera from the move from there to here. LOL What I have managed to identify (just if anyone cares or not) Possible natives -The above mentioned trillium -Solomon's Seal (unknown species) -Penstemon (a small purple type again unknown species) -Marginal Woodfern -Partridge Berry (the ground cover thing) -Wild Geranium of some sort People planted -Hosta seedlings not the parents just babies -Heleborus (never can remember how to spell it) -Iris -Ivy (I don't really like ivy but I got it) and many other ground cover rambling type plants. -Azalea (duh it is GA afterall) -Aucuba japonica -Forsythia Everything else is a big green blur right now. There's some rampaging vines, baby trees, a few shruby type things that are small and I'm not sure if they are shrubs or perennials, or weeds. Thanks for the link to gnps. I've looked at their site before and have used some of their pics for IDing. They don't have enough though. I've thought about taking a ride out to the Georgia State Botanical Gardens to see what things look like and using them to ID the stuff that is not in flower right now. It's just down the street and over a bit. I could probably even find it by myself.
...See More
Need assist with Trilliums in Milw
Q
Comments (4)
Virginia, Judy and Heather, Thanks sooooo very much. Everything makes total sense. I think it's lack of water. Over the years I've collected trilliums from a variety of places. Some were transplants from someone's yard where the landlord was going to dig up the whole area. The transplant was quite successful but then the tree in front of my yard died and a totally shaded area turned into direct all day sun. I tried to protect them but.... Then there are the ones I bought at Stein's Garden Center--they never did grow. I bought some purple ones from e-bay and I think they are the only ones left, but no flowers this year so I'm not sure. BUT! Thanks to the three of you, I know just what to do now. *B*
...See More
Best time of year to plant woodland wildflower corms like trilliums?
Q
Comments (7)
I only have experience with trilliums.... They grow well around here. There were a few already here when we bought this property in 1999 but we're added to them since. What has worked for us is to plant them dormant in mid summer, plant them in areas with lots of leaf litter - under trees, and never water or disturb them while they are dormant! There are lots of squirrels here and, as far as I can tell, they've never bothered them. The white trilliums are more vigorous for us than red ones - white ones are the provincial flower of Ontario so that might be a sign that they are particularly suited here. They are now spreading by both offsets and seedlings. Some pictures....: Cole in the nearby 'trillium wood' that is my reference for what I'd like to have here! White trilliums near the shed in our garden: A closer view from 2015 where you can see seedlings getting big enough to start to bloom: (Note the plentiful oak leaves in those pictures! The trilliums seem to like those conditions....) Red trilliums don't seem as happy here and are spreading much slower: On the issue of squirrels and tulips.... Here the squirrels seem inclined to ADD tulips to our garden! Several years after we started gardening here, a clump of orange tulips appeared under the oak tree in the back yard. We didn't plant them and the tulips looked suspiciously like ones in a neighbour's yard down the street! :-) So we assume the squirrels planted them..... Aside from deadheading the tulips once the flowers fade, I do nothing to them - they keep returning and the clump gets bigger as the years pass. The oldest picture I can find on this computer is 2010 but I think they first appeared before that. 2010: 2015 (apologies for the poor picture quality!) Some salmony-pink tulips appeared in the front garden 2-3 years ago that I was sure we didn't plant and, looking around, I saw the same ones in a garden across the street! So squirrels might dig up the occasional bulb, but they are probably gifting it to a neighbour :-)
...See More
Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana
15 years ago
I would either move them now or as they fade. I too am no expert, but when I wait for a better time, or the best time to move something, I often find things have gone dormant, and I can no longer find them, or I don't have the time to do it.

One them I have found when digging them from 'naturally' planted settings (my woods) is that they really are much easier to dig when the soil is really, really wet. I've also learned some are a lot deeper than others.

I may be mistaken, but I think I have had some native things not appear one season, yet come back the next season...or so it seemed. I attributed it to possibly suffering from drought conditions from the previous year.

Sue
prhart
15 years ago
The loss of a large tree means that light conditions have changed in the area where your trilliums are disappearing. It may be that you now have too much sunlight and heat for trilliums to thrive. As long as you are careful to lift the entire root system of individual plants, you can move them at any time. Just water them in thoroughly after the move. It's always a good idea to include humus in the planting hole. That will improve moisture retention and improve soil quality.
ladyslppr
15 years ago
I would move them now if you can dig a nice ball of soil with them. If you have to work them out from in between roots or rocks, I might wait until the fall to move them when they are dormant. Moving them now has the advantage of giving them the rest of their growing season to get stronger for next year. If they are in a poor spot they might not be storing much energy.

I don't know how you could change the soil surrounding the other trilliums. You could add humus to the surface, but that would take some time to have much effect. If moisture is insufficient in the current location, there is not much you can do about it without major work that would disturb the trilliums. I think if you were really determined to change the moisture conditions, you could think about removing trees that demand a lot of water and have shallow roots, and amend the soil with lots of humus to make it retain water better. Neither of these changes could be made without disturbing the trilliums.

moving trillium

Comments (5)

ontheteam

Iris GW

Related Discussions

Chemocurl zn5b/6a Indiana

prhart

ladyslppr

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US