I always have mixed feelings about buying those trilliums- they are collected from the wild, and such activity is criminal. Tried to point it out to managers of the stores- nope, nobody cares...even sent letter to Lowes corporation... OTOH- they are already collected and if we do not buy them they will die and I could do great job of making sure they survive and grow in my garden. So yes, I have bought some in the past and have them growing in my garden. I pot them up and keep on the cool side until it is time to plant them outside which could be as soon as soil is workable.

All Trillium species are monocotyledons (monocots) and produce only a single leaf upon germination. (seed leaf) Monocot seeds contain one cotyledon, or embryonic leaf. When these seeds germinate, the cotyledon remains below ground, absorbing nutrients from the endosperm, the starchy food supply in the seed. The cotyledon transports these nutrients to the developing seedling. For a brief time, the cotyledons also serve as the first photosynthesizing leaves, but they wither and die when the true leaves emerge. Monocots produce flower parts, petals, sepals, etc., in 3's or multiples of 3 (6.9, etc.). They also have fibrous roots and the leaf veins are parallel, unlike dicots, which have net veined leaves. True leaves may appear the second year, but often not until the third year. Rb

Case claims, in his reference book on trillium, that green seed will sometimes germinate without going through the winter cold period. He also notes that mature seed germinates the first year but that the growth occurs underground so that the seedlings are not visible. I received T. ovatum seed from another GW member and got a pretty good stand of seedlings after one year but T. albidium did not emerge this spring so it will take the full two years. You may want to consider putting a baggy over ripening seed pods about this time of year to prevent their abcising and being scattered by the ants.

Brenda, last I checked...people weren't in danger of becoming rare or extinct. I don't care about their poverty..that is NO excuse for poaching. It is in-excusable for major corporations to buy that which was poached from state and federal lands, which belong to ALL of us, then turn around and sell it for profit. There are many, many government programs available to the poor...from pre-natal care all the way up to elder care programs and hospice. Including free college tuition, work training, food, medical care, etc. I have been really poor...I have lived on Ramen Noodles and tortillas and potatoes for months at a time, yet I never felt the need to steal. Heck, I was unemployed and uninsured when I was diagnosed with MS..and I didn't go hold up the corner store to pay for my tests and treatment. I used every government/private program I could use to do that which needed to be done..after all, I had already paid for it many times over. What these folks are doing is stealing, and what they're stealing is our natural heritage. And they're stealing it from each and every one of us, and our children and grand-children. People who go on "plant rescues" with reputable organisations don't turn around and sell the dang things to the highest bidder. Silverkat...If you can't beat 'em, join 'em? I'd rather not join 'em. And yes, boycotts do work. I have lots and lots of ethically collected or nursery grown and propagated native plants. I don't need Lowe's. The ethically collected plants and seeds are out there, all that's required is a little research. VERY little..people who grow natives are usually happy to admit their stock is on the up and up. If enough people cared enough not to buy those little baggies of dessicated native plants..well, there'd be no financial incentive to carry them in the store. Which would go a long way towards solving the problem, wouldn't it? april