British Columbia: trying to protect boulevard trilliums

Discussion in 'Pacific Northwest Native Plants' started by HeatherS, Jan 9, 2020.

  1. HeatherS

    HeatherS New Member

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    I have an area of my boulevard that the trilliums seem to love. I'm have been trying to protect them as construction workers from the home across the street have been parking on them. Does anyone know why the Dogwood, Rhododendron and Trillium Protection Act was repealed in 2002?
     
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  2. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    This is what I can find,

    "The dogwood, rhododendron and trillium were protected under a 1931 provincial act, but that ended when the provincial government repealed the law in April 2002.
    Kevin Falcon, the minister of state for deregulation at the time, said there was no shortage of rhodos or trilliums in B.C. and saw no need to continue the protection for the three plants."


    This was not a popular decision but it was done none the less. I personally have not seen many trilliums at all growing wild and have been slowly splitting my patch to spread them out to other areas, trying to re-introduce them.
     
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  3. Daniel Mosquin

    Daniel Mosquin Paragon of Plants UBC Botanical Garden Forums Administrator Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    That was at a time when the government of the day was deregulating, to the point of having Kevin Falcon as a Minister of State for Red Tape Reduction.
     
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  4. vitog

    vitog Contributor 10 Years

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    Heather, when a house is being renovated or rebuilt, both Vancouver and Burnaby require temporary plastic fencing to be placed around the adjacent boulevard to protect it. Perhaps you could ask the construction contractor to do that for your boulevard or install it yourself.
     
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  5. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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    I cringe to think I once had cement truck and a carpenter work bench on an area of wild checkered lilies - frittaleria (brown and white ) —- up in south Okanagan

    The small acreage had been range grazed too plus vehicle traffic —- and by letting it rest for a few yrs - it was and still is amazing what comes up faithfully

    It is a wonder what they recover from - tho I would check city laws or a polite request as already suggested

    I can well understand your concern and likely disappointment. Not many people even see let alone appreciate what’s beneath their feet.
     
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  6. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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    I have been thinking about this

    Are we talking about forest trillium or dog tooth lily (fawn lily)

    Either way -

    I wonder if you think this new parking area is going to be ruined for trilliums - could you transplant some?

    Do any of the posters here PMurphy above have advice about successful Trillium moving

    ie digging trillium (they always have a leaf even in winter?) and moving to healthy new location on your property

    Just out of curiosity - how long years have you been on this property ... i wonder if the previous occupants parked on Blvd and since you moved in - maybe you’ve not parked as much in that space - so the trilliums came back (fr under)

    I am not plant expert that’s for sure - tho as I describe above I have seen amazing regeneration.

    I look fwd to your update .
     
  7. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Trilliums are very easy to move. Dig around the perimeter of the plant about 6 inches from the stem or bud. A number of thick roots grow from a rhizome just below the soil surface and are not very deep. You should be able to lift the whole plant in one shovelful. This is a good time to divide if the plant is large enough. Replant in humusy soil preferably in a shady location. (Trillium ovatum can tolerate full sun if the soil is kept moist.) The best time to transplant a trillium is while it is dormant but can be moved anytime if necessary. Plants moved during the growing season may return a bit smaller the next spring.
     
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  8. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    I find moving trilliums can tricky and I try to do it in early spring or late fall. One of the biggest issues is actually getting to the root; my well established, wild growing plants can go 8-12" deep. I try to deal with moving young plants - a year or so old - but they can take up to 7 years to flower from seed (which I get a lot of) and can often be mistaken for weeds. My plants all come from a single plant that was found growing in Coquitlam in a subdivision under construction in 1975. When I moved to Vancouver (in 2004) I brought a pot of them with me so I now have close to 100 plant in my patch and I'm allowing them to slowly spread to other areas of my front garden.
    FYI, in order for trilliums to successfully spread naturally you will need ants - they will take the seeds into their nests as much as 30 ft away and there they will sprout
     
  9. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    Those must be very happy, healthy trilliums to have roots 8 - 12-inches deep! When I lived in Burnaby, literally dozens of plants grew from seed produced by an original clump (given to me by some lovely people who dug it up from beside the foundation of their hot, sunny garage).

    Then anthracnose came along; I don't know why, but it turned each and every trillium to mush soon after they came up in the spring. Each year the flowers got smaller and smaller. It was heartbreaking and one of the reasons I didn't mind leaving that garden I had loved for 30 years.

    Now, my half dozen or so trillium plants have not produced any seedlings in over 10 years. Perhaps the thatching ants prevalent here swallow them instead of just transporting them. :-) The important thing for me now is that the plants themselves are fungus-free.
     
  10. pmurphy

    pmurphy Contributor 10 Years

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    I believe the secret to the ants is that they store the seeds with other organic matter and therefore they are well fertilized and will sprout if not consumed. I have several patches now appearing at a distance from the original plants but I also have many seedlings that appear within the original patch; there does not appear to be any difference in the health of the plants. I also try to leave the original patch as "wild" as possible and do not remove organic matter or clean it in the fall therefore there is plenty of organic matter for young seedlings in the spring.
     
  11. Georgia Strait

    Georgia Strait Generous Contributor

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    I hope you can post a photo PMurphy. This is very interesting .
     
  12. Margot

    Margot Renowned Contributor 10 Years

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    I learned a bit about Myrmecochory (dispersal of seeds by ants) while researching a presentation on Hellebores. It is so interesting! Many species of such plants as Trillium, Hellebore, Cyclamen, Wild Ginger, Violet, Hepatica and Bleeding Heart rely on ants to take their seeds further from the mother plant than gravity would allow. They have evolved to attach a bit of food (elaiosome) to the exterior of the seed that ants find attractive enough to lug the thing back to their nest to share with the gang. Unfortunately for the ants, a few fall along the way and germinate wherever they land - sometimes in very inappropriate spots. Exampe: Hellebores growing on a hot, sunny, dry slope.

    In my garden, I have a trail of hellebores, wild ginger, cyclamens and bleeding hearts growing between the garden and the ant nest. I call it 'Ant Highway'.
    No trilliums though.

    Myrmecochory - Wikipedia

    600px-Aphaenogaster_fulva_and_seeds_Alex_Wild.jpg
    Photo from Myrmecochory - AntWiki

     
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