Trillium seeds

[Afloden]

Roberto,

 Send me a private message with your address and I can probably send some seed of most of the Southeastern US species and a few of the Appalachian mountain ones also.
 
Aaron Floden
Knoxville

[Anthony Darby]

I have quite a few fresh Trillium grandiflorum and T. g. roseum seeds for anyone who emails me their home address (privately).

Anthony.

[Rodger Whitlock]

In the past when I grew a great many different plants from seed, I never felt that trillium presented any particular difficulty. To call it "ephemeral" is imho a gross exaggeration! True ephemerals such as willows (Salix) are viable for at best a few days, in great contrast to trillium seed.

My routine practice with trillium seeds (and many others) was this: first, soak the seed in water with a drop or two of liquid dishwashing liquid added as a wetting agent. I would soak for a minimum of a week, sometimes as long as a month.

Whenever the water became cloudy, I would rinse the seeds in a fine sieve under a hard spray of tap water, and then put them to soak further in fresh water.

The seeds were sown by pressing into the surface of a lightly compacted soil based mix. It is important to use a soil based seed compost, as the seeds and seedlings will be in the pot for as long as several years, and soilless mixes (for example, those based on peat) deteriorate into soggy anaerobic splodge before then.

The seed pots were top dressed with 10–15 mm of fine gravel and placed in a covered, shady coldframe. I do not recall how long germination took, but I'm pretty sure in some cases at least it took place the following year.

The young trilliums needed to be kept in their seed pot for at least another year until they formed their first true leaves. At that time they were (very delicately!) pricked out, but I found that they will reach maturity faster if planted out in a nursery bed after forming a true leaf.

These seeds were from various exchanges, so the seed had been in storage since the previous summer when it ripened, always dry, sometimes refrigerated. Sowing took place in the December-February time frame.

[Kristl Walek]

Hello and Welcome Rodger,

Language is a tricky thing---and the word "ephemeral" might be misleading/confusing/not theoretically correct when compared to seed that dies almost instantly when it dries out, such as Salix...

However, most folks understand that what is meant by the term is that a seed cannot (or ideally, should not) undergo long-term dry storage. I've heard the term "hydrophyllic seed" suggested. An idea.

When discussing longevity of Trillium seed it becomes necessary to talk species, of course. The research is fairly clear that *most* species can tolerate dry storage for 2-3 months, but viability drops off significantly after that. There are exceptions (nivale, viridescens, stamineum etc.) still give decent germination up to about 6 months dry, room-temperature storage. And of course dry stored T. rivale seed can remain viable for even longer (about 8 months).

But as a general rule, the genus has not evolved to be resistant to extended drying.

As one Trillium man states about the seed:

"They develop in moist berries, in the shade, in mesic woodlands and have no adaptations for long-range migration. They must tolerate semi-arid conditions in the litter of summer woodlands, but occasional rain, and frequent dew prevent complete desiccation."

So, if given a choice, why dry store them at all?

Maintaining optimum vigour of Trillium seed means constant moisture from the moment of collection. Thus handled, many species (including T. grandiflorum) will have germinated by late autumn of the same year they were collected.


 

[Kristl Walek]

Further to my last post, I would like to share these photos of germination of various Trillium species from this season. The 2008 collection date is noted on the zip lock bag; seed has been kept consistently hydrated since collection.

[Kristl Walek]

and a few more...

[Paul T]

Well done Kristl.  Well done!! 

[Joakim B]

Would this germinated seeds after planting survive a winter by going dormant or do they need to be stored frost free? That is for sorts that can take frost.
Very nice result You have.
Kind regards
Joakim