It favours rich moist woods and their edges. Particularly luxuriant individuals grow near streams and on floodplains. The North American range extends to central California and eastward to Colorado and Southwest Alberta. A dwarf form of western trillium, called Trillium hibbersonii occurs in a few localities mainly on the west side of Vancouver Island. This rare plant grows scarcely than 10 cm tall.
Trilliums make outstanding subjects for the woodland garden and perennial bed.
Choose a moist shaded or partly shaded site such as the north side of a building or beneath an evergreen or deciduous shrub or tree. Leave in the ground for years of delightful spring bloom. To acquire this outstanding native woodland perennial ask your local garden centre or nursery to order it in, or plant root-bearing rhizome pieces begged from a gardening friend. Do not dig trilliums in the wild. If you cannot get plants then sow trillium seeds in the fall in normal gritty potting soil.