spring asprung, wake-robin awakened

[eub]

The trillium patch by the driveway is coming into bloom! Here's the littlest bloomer, and the plants unspiraling their leaves:

From 2009-03-21 trillium, daffodil

And do you know what, trillium seeds are dead easy to sprout. People talk about all of this cold-warm-cold stratification, complicated technique, wait two years, so I put some seeds in just on a lark, not expecting much. In little pots shaded under the plum tree, with screening and pebbles on top to keep the damn squirrels out. And I went under the plum tree to look at the anemone coming up, and the trilliums are coming up too, sending up small single wavery banners. These funny cotyledons are apparently what they do their first year. No pictures of those yet, but here are the seeds and their juicy orange elaiosomes from last year:

From 2008-07-13 trillium elaiosomes

A squill was coming up out of one pot too, how did that get in there, squirrel-planted? But no, it grew up into a drain hole and right through the pot; when I picked the pot up the squill pulled down and out.

Comments

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

awesome pictures.

[eub.livejournal.com]

Thanks. :)

[hosterman.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is so cool. And I'm jealous. I love trilliums!

[eub.livejournal.com]

Would you like a pot? There are surely plenty.

[hosterman.livejournal.com]

I would LOVE a pot. Thank you!!!

[beaq.livejournal.com]

In little pots shaded under the plum tree, with screening and pebbles on top to keep the damn squirrels out.

Isn't that stratification?

[eub.livejournal.com]

yabbut dead simple. People say this stuff like "If you pick a flower or leaf off it will die. They take 15 years to bloom the first time, and seeds take 90 days to germinate, with cold, warm, and another cold stratification."

COLD WARM COLD 15 YEARS AND PICK A LEAF OFF BREAK YOUR MOTHER'S BACK

[beaq.livejournal.com]

You deliberately went looking for the DUMBEST THINGS ANYONE EVER SAID ABOUT ANY PLANT EVER!, didn't you?

So how long did it take to germinate, and how was the weather? :-)

One of those pheasantberry sticks might have survived the freeze and rooted, BTW. TBD.