BULBS > ALLIUM
IN THIS GUIDE
ALLIUM GUIDES
Container GrowingDeadheadingPruningVarietiesYellow farewell
We have umbel loose and densely - packed , floret upright and pendent , and complementary colours of sunny chicken and vibrant purple – that ’s the ornamental Allium .
These flora produce bunches and clusters of flyspeck flowers in previous springtime and summer that sashay and sway in the cinch on their slender stems .
Allium‘Mount Everest’
They are perfect as companion plant or for aggregate plantings .
Many Alliums efflorescence transude an oniony smell , just as many are in some tone of purpleness .
And equally many species ’ flower are in the form of pom - pommy - like inflorescences .
A. flavum
“ I love photographing flora with distinct germ head such as Alilums , which can make such symmetric compositions , ” shares Molly Hollman , a Plant Photographer .
The Allium genus includes onion , garlic , leek , shallot , chives , and what we are concerned in here : pretty bloom plants that are grown as ornamentals , albeit not as fundamental or showy ones .
Alliums are really a genus of plants whose bulbs and leaves are flavourful and edible .
A. neapolitanum
Some , such as the aforementioned onion plant and ail , are consider strictly eatable plants , though many varieties surely put out pretty flower , whereas others are grow as blossom plants , though both the bulbs and the peak are edible and often tasty .
Overview
PreferredFull Sun
ExposureSheltered
Height0.5 – 1 thou
Spread0.1 – 0.5 M
Bloom TimeMay & June
PreferredMost Soil Types
MoistureMoist but well run out
pHAny
Though some metal money of Allium have been bred strictly for the comestible bulbs and are not suppose to bolt ( run to bloom ) and which coinage can not be considered blossom smorgasbord , the telephone circuit dividing edible genus Allium and decorative Alliums is neither laborious - and - loyal nor scientific ; it is quite arbitrary .
Allium blossoming works have a band going for them – they are low - care to no - care , fully hardy , reliable perennial .
Their flowers are emphatically strange , being florets in pommy - pommy - shaped and other type of inflorescences and umbels .
While some metal money ’ efflorescence come in clean and soft tones of mauve , others provide vivid and vibrant dab of purple and pink .
They attract butterfly but repel most garden pest !
And though you certainly are not kick the bucket to dig up a bulb to run through it , these pretty ornamental will be a reference of fore and leave which you may use as pot - herbaceous plant to add a leeky , shalloty look or that you may utilise as a reliever for scallions in a salad .
Habitat & Growing Conditions
As Alliums are native to or naturalised over a vast range of habitats , from the Northern compass of Russia and Canada down to Northern Africa , their habitats and grow conditions vary considerably.1Allium(n.d . ) . Kew Royal Botanic Gardens . Retrieved March 9 , 2023 , fromhttps://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30000901-2A. neapolitanum
Some species grow furious in dry status on the steppes and plateaus of Central Asia .
Others develop in moister habitats in open grasslands and shady woodlands of the United States .
Still others grow in hayfield and theater , and are even found in fen , in Europe .
Planting
If there ever was a associate plant or a ‘ co - leading plant ’ , Allium is it .
They make for superb filler , interesting and colorful in their own rights , to be planted between , behind , and around , belated saltation to other summertime ’s leading flowering stanch such assome Amaryllis , many Irises , Columbines , andPoppies .
On the other bridge player , some Allium species , such asA.‘His Excellency ’ andA. hollandicum‘Purple Sensation ’ , are excellent option for mass plantings in view of the pattern and colour of their blooms , and also the movement they bring to a garden as they sway and nod in the breeze .
Other varieties that produce appealing cluster in pleasing and gentle hue are just as good for edge and edging , and for growing along the side of a porch or patio .
These includeA. stellatumandA. flavum .
Some sort , likeA. cyaneum , are made to order for tilt garden .
At the other close of the spectrum , a few varieties are unquestionably suited to architectural plantings , for exercise , ‘ Mount Everest ’ and ‘ His Excellency ’ .
It is easy to grow Allium with such plant whose leafage and bloom will hold in Allium ’s fading , yellowing and dying foliage through the summer , because – as for other bulgy plant – the leave must be forget unaffected so they can engender energy stores for the bulbs to regenerate after the dormant winter time of year .
Alliums should not be raise in a windy spot , let alone a blusterous one , because inviolable flatus will tear aside the ticklish anthesis .
On the other hand , a gentle wind will greatly heighten the joyousness of these plants as they will bob and sway merrily in the breeze .
In the UK Allium are best set in full sun .
The ‘ right ’ time to implant these late spring- and other summer - blossom bulb is early - to - mid November .
Different species ’ bulb vary quite widely in size and even within a specie , bulb sizes will differ .
You will read some gardening how - tos advising you to plant Allium bulbs at twice the deepness of the bulb ’s summit , and others telling you to plant at thrice the deepness .
Well , both are correct ; the ‘ right hand ’ depth is implied by a few factors , most importantly the soil .
The more loose , ironical , and sand - based your soil is , the bass you should plant a electric light , say at a deepness that is thrice a given electric-light bulb ’s height .
The more compacted , moist , or clayey your soil is , the shallower you should engraft a incandescent lamp , say twice a give incandescent lamp ’s height .
Water lightbulb after plant and do so lightly through the winter though rain may well offer sufficient water .
Allium Plant Care
Allium are not fussy about filth or , indeed , anything else .
All Alliums will be well-chosen in a ripe all - circular loam mix .
The soil should drain well ; a Slightly acidulent soil pH is preferred .
“ If you have heavy soil , as I do , then one option is to implant alliums into call forth area that drain more freely , ” recommends RHS Master of Horticulture Colin Skelly .
The characteristic pungent smell and taste of Allium sativum and onions , which is also present to a lesser degree in decorative Alliums , bet upon the amounts and assiduity of sulphates in the grunge .
No sulphates , no sharpness ; eminent sulphates , high pungency .
you’re able to chemically control your dirt ’s sulfate content , though it can be a tricky business .
Alliums may be fertilised just when the leaves being to show .
A luminance feeding with 5 - 5 - 10 fertiliser or a bulb fertiliser would be good .
They can be fed similarly once again after the flowering time of year is over .
At this clock time the works ’s water indigence will increase and watering should be more steady .
Though blooms may be deadheaded throughout the blossoming season , do not cut off the foliation ( unless you wish to enjoy fresh honey oil with your supper ! ) .
Let them shrink and die .
In fall the plants can be trend down to the ground .
Once every three year or so you may need to fag up the bulbs in late fall so as to divide them .
you could plant new ones in pots and then endowment potted Alliums in spring .
Some Alliums are not bulbous plants but grow from rhizomes or rhizomatous roots .
These type should be dug up in bound for variance which is done by carefully separating the rootstalk clump with a sharp brand .
Before winter hardening in , though most Allium bulb are hardy , you could cover the soil with a thin layer of leaf mulch .
Common Problems
Almost all Allium mintage that are naturalised to Europe and almost all garlics and leeks , are virtually imperviable to pests .
The only exceptions are onions and eschalot which may fall victim to slugs .
All Alliums repel gnawer , cervid , and harmful insects including Japanese mallet , while attracting butterfly stroke .
However , Alliums are susceptible to a duo of diseases , namely downlike mould and onion plant white rot .
The latter is a fungal disease that is nearly unimaginable to treat .
The harmful being can lie torpid and persist in the soil for many long time .
