Red Trillium - Stinking Benjamin

Red Trillium

The Red Trillium, Trillium erectum, is one of the most beautiful small flowers in the garden. This three petal flower produces a red three petal bloom. The blooms appear in Spring. It reaches 8-14 inches. This flower is a perennial and ships bare root. It grows best in partial shade.

This flower grows in rich, clammy woods from Manitoba, Canada east to Nova Scotia, south to Georgia and Alabama, and north to Illinois and Michigan. The root was customarily utilized as a guide as a part of labor, thus the name "Bethroot" (a defilement of "conception root"). Local Americans used root tea for the menstrual issue, to incite labor, and to help in labor. The entire plant is into a poultice used to treat tumors, irritation, and ulcers.

The Red Trillium is a perennial flower sporting three pointed crimson petals with three narrow sepals alternating beneath them.

These sepals can become tinged in crimson as well, making the flower appear to have six petals. At the base of the stem, three almost spade-shaped leaves spread close to the ground. These plants are native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada, and so thrive in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4-8. The flowers bloom in the spring in summer and prefer shady areas of the garden.

Red Trillium has one other name, Wake Robin, as both the bird and the bloom's red appearance heralds the beginning of spring.

 Leftover plant mulch is perfect for these plants. Even though high or prolonged heat will kill the blooms, it cannot destroy the plant itself. In fact, they can live up to 25 years, providing long-lasting beauty, making Red Trillium a rewarding choice for the garden.

 These bulbs can be planted in shade or partially shady gardens. They will bloom for years and years to come. Perfect for natural wooded areas, as that is their native habitat.

Red Trillium are Spring blooming perennials and grow best in zones 4-8.

The Red Trillium is shipped bare root.