WHITE TROUT LILY Erythronium revolutum albidum

A loved early spring flower, the White Trout Lily's flowers are held well above the thick and highly patterned purple, brown and white thick mottled foliage! Trout lily is a long-lived perennial, that over time, will self seeds and form drifts in shady or wooded areas.

Erythronium albidum, the white fawnlily or white trout lily, is native to eastern North America, from southern Quebec and southern Manitoba south to Georgia and Texas.

It is also known as adder's tongue, dog's-tooth violet, serpent's tongue, trout lily, deer tongue, and yellow snowdrop.

Type: Hardy perennial

Height: 20-25 cm, 8"

Location: or part

Hardiness zones: 2-8

Bloom time: Spring

Seeds per pack: 3

Germination: As with many perennials, these require a period of moist cold to help them grow. This is done by giving them a cold 'winter' period (artificial or natural), and then a warming to simulate 'spring', and time to grow! Here's how this can be done:

Obtain a planting container that has holes in the bottom for excess water to drain. Place the seeds just under the surface of your growing medium, and water. Place your container in a cold area (but not freezing, perhaps a refrigerator) for 4-6 weeks. Once the cold period is completed, place the container at room temperature for them to germinate. Be sure to keep the soil moist during this entire germination period. Seedlings will sprout a few weeks, or occasionally several months, after the warming period.

Alternatively, these seeds can also be planted outdoors in fall, winter, or early spring, while temperatures are still cold (but ground is workable) to germinate naturally in spring. Be sure to mark the area where you planted them, and that the soil is consistently moist.