Trilliums for the Shade Garden

Story by Jessica Calvillo.

Known as toadshades or wakerobins, trilliums can take up to seven years to flower from seed. They are beautiful additions to redwood understories alongside ferns and wild ginger. If you are unfamiliar with these beauties, let me paint you a picture. Trilliums are low growing, perennial, woodland plants with a distinctive appearance featuring a single stem which supports a whorl of three broad leaves and a single, three-petaled flower. In our region of the "Trillium Belt," the most common species found are T. ovatum (White or Western Trillium), T. chloropetalum (Giant Trillium), T. albidum (Sweet White Trillium), and T. kurabayashii (Giant Purple Trillium).

Trilliums prefer to grow in the shade canopy of bigleaf maples, redwoods, and oaks. They can be found growing alongside other shade-loving species like ferns, wild ginger (Asarum caudatum), and redwood violets (Viola sempervirens). These companion plants make great additions to a shade garden beyond trilliums themselves.

An important note: Due to the long time it takes trilliums to grow to maturity, be very cautious about the source of any trillium plants you purchase. Wild-harvesting trilliums is unsustainable and threatens wild populations. Always purchase from ethical nurseries that propagate their own stock.