Thursday, April 12, 2012

Large Flowered Trillium 2012

The Large Flowered Trilliums are blooming a month ahead of last year.  Although I haven’t made an official count for this year, it looks like the number of plants is slightly below last year.  One cluster of three plants that has consistently produced one or two blooms per year appears to be completely missing.  I couldn’t find any evidence to suggest whether it had sprouted and been eaten or if it had just failed to grow.

The plant with the bloom was just beginning to come out of the ground two weeks ago. 

Three young plants that I discovered last year are back up.  I don’t know if they will get any larger, but at this point they’re identical in size to what I saw last spring.  I suppose it will be a few more years before they’re ready to flower.

The steep, almost vertical bank that contains most of these plants suffered some damage from the intense rain we had in early March.  Dropping 1.2 inches of rain on the ground in five minutes results in some intense overland flow and anything not firmly anchored is going to move.  Most of the dead leaf cover ended up at the bottom of the hill. 

Fortunately, there was little loss of soil and most of the Trilliums are still in place.

If this bloom opens, it will make a total of two for this season.  I’m hoping that it opens soon, so I can take my pollination brush out and make the plants share some pollen.  I’ve been hand pollinating these flowers for the last few years in an effort to get some viable seeds.  The fact that I’m beginning to see small plants may mean I’m having some success.

2 comments:

  1. I love your micro looks at your property. We just got home and have so much to do to our property. It's amazing what ten weeks away will do. We do have the grass cut and hedges trimmed while we are away, but there is so much more to do when we get home.

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  2. Hi Lois. I imagine the chores can really pile up during a ten week absence. I hope you're not rushed to get caught up before you leave again.

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