Growing Guide
 
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Trout Lily

Spring-Flowering Bulb

Also known as Dog's Tooth Violet , American Adder's Tongue
Erythronium americanum
Liliaceae Family

Native to eastern North America, the Trout Lily is delicate but hardy, with nodding, lily-like yellow blooms. These rise above two basal leaves that are dark green and mottled with brown, resembling a trout. It is best used in mass plantings in naturalized settings where the soil does not dry out.

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Site Characteristics
Sunlight:
  • part shade

Soil conditions:

  • requires damp soil
Prefers rich, moist but well-drained soils that do not dry out.

Hardiness zones:

  • 3 to 9
Plant Traits

Lifecycle: perennial

Ease-of-care: easy

Height: 0.25 to 0.75 feet

Spread: 0.25 to 0.5 feet

Bloom time: mid-spring

Flower color: yellow

Foliage color:

  • dark green
  • variegated
  • other

Leaves are dark green mottled with brown, somewhat resembling the coloration of a trout.

Foliage texture: medium

Shape: herbaceous: other

Plants have two ovoid basal leaves.

Shape in flower:

  • flower stalks with upright spikes
  • flower stalks with flowers hanging downward

Nodding blooms borne on erect stems rising above the basal leaves.

Special Considerations
Special characteristics:
  • non-aggressive
  • non-invasive
  • native to North America - Eastern U.S. and Canada, from Nova Scotia to Florida.
Growing Information
How to plant:

Propagate by division or separation - Divide the plants in summer after the foliage has begun to die back. If dividing in hot weather, make sure the new planting location is moist.

Maintenance and care:
Plant the bulbs 5" beneath the soil surface. They require this planting depth. which is deeper than you'd expect for a bulb of such small size.

More growing information: How to Grow Bulbs