More trilliums in Ontario

They are just starting to take on their second colour - pink. I'll have to check them out again next week.

Joan

A closer look.

And closer still. laff

Joan

Aren't they lovely, Joan. Thanks for sharing. Hmmm, gotta look into those.

Lovely pictures Joan; you have a good eye for beauty. I wasn't aware that Trilliums turn pink eventually.

Donna, Trilliums are very protected in Ontario, being our Provincial Flower, and we're not allowed to disturb them in any way. Picking one flower will kill the plant, or so we were told in school. I'm sure other provinces aren't as protective about them as Ontario though.

Christine

Joan
Thanks for showing them to us,,
very pretty.
Wilma

Hi Christine. Are you sure they're protected? I was recently told by someone who claimed to have called the MNR about it that it is a popular myth that trilliums are protected in Ontario (people automatically think our provincial flower would be protected), but MNR doesn't say anything about that unless you ask them, because they like the way it keeps most people away from the poor things. If indeed they are really protected that will give me more ammunition to get this person to stop "liberating" them from the wild and buy them like most of us do. --Ginny

Beautiful pictures Joan. The trillium is lovely.

Glenda

Here's a link that talks about the threats and protection of the Drooping Trillium in Ontario and parts of New York - http://www.rom.on.ca/ontario/risk.php?doc_type=fact&id=9 - maybe that's the only trillium that's under protection. The site doesn't say what steps should be taken or not taken to protect it though. I'll keep looking.
Christine

Here's a site for a grower that explains a bit about the White Trillium as the protected flower of Ontario and "should not be picked" - http://www.growerflowers.com/SECanada.asp?bhcp=1

And here's an interesting site that talks about Israel helping Canada to cultivate trilliums - http://www.cicweb.ca/Israel21century/science/trillium.cfm

Thanks Christine. I think that pretty much puts paid to the not protected theory :-)

I still don't think its all trilliums though, and maybe the protection won't last forever, given the interest that Israel is taking in helping Canada to cultivate them.

This caused controversy elsewhere so a friend took it upon herself to contact the gov't and this is their answer.

"According to the Ministry of Natural Resources it is not encouraged, but legal, in most situations, to pick trilliums in Ontario. However, as stated in the Provincial Parks Act, Regulation 952, Section 2, Subsection 2a, it is illegal to pick trilliums in Provincial Parks. Also, some municipalities have enacted their own bylaws against picking trilliums. You should contact the municipality in question for information about their appropriate bylaws. Trilliums may be obtained from various nurseries or plant suppliers, check your Yellow pages for the location in your area."

Joan

Very interesting stuff. I don't think I had ever seen them before. I wonder if they grow here in BC. Any of you British Columbians know?

Thanks for the update Joan. It's good to know for sure. I can't really blame my "liberator". Even though the great white trillium is readily available at nurseries, it is so prolific here in SW Ontario (as you know) that many people just dig it up and take it home - even some of the nursery stock is discovered to be wild stock. --Ginny

Very interesting Ginny. I'm not sure how prolific it is around here in the little wild we have, but I never see it in gardens or garden centres.

Maybe it's so easy to find in nurseries here because we have a real thing happening in the region (Huron, Middlesex, Wellington, Oxford, and Essex counties that I'm aware of) for native woodland plants. Many of the nurseries here carry everything from trilliums to lady's slipper orchids, may apples, solomon's seal, and virtually anything considered native.

Sounds like a good thing to me!

Joan your photo of the mass of trilliums looks like how they grow in the understory here in our Blue Ridge mountains... large masses at the edges. Thanks for posting.

Some Ontario Trilliums growing in my backyard....

I didn't think they'd be tough enough to winter over on the Canadian prairies but I was wrong (mine came from a lady in Toronto).

We find the white trilliums often wild when we find the fawn lilies and shooting stars. They're also available at the local nurseries.

Very nice Pam. You're lucky to have them.

Joan

oldflowergirl,

I can send you some bare root trilliums for postage. They are accualy a bulb.
I live in zone 2 and i dug some up from the bush by Tweed, ontario and they have done very well.
They quickly form dense clumps.
Let me know.
Marilyn

This message was edited May 24, 2005 9:28 PM

You have mail, Marilyn. :)