Plant of the Week: Alliums (Ornamental Onions)

May 11, 2011 — 4 Comments

Allium, Purple Sensation

Allium w/ Sensitive Ferns and Hosta, ones on left have not fully opened yet

 

Alliums (Ornamental Onions)

Type: Perennial Bulb  (Zones 3-8).
Light Requirements: Full to Part Sun (some will work in Part Shade)
Moisture/Soil: Average moisture.
Blooms: Late spring to early summer (varies by variety)
Leaves: Green.
Size: Height: Varies by variety. Purple Sensation grows to about 30″ in part sun and full sun in my yard.
Additional Info: I grow several varieties. I love them and as a bonus the critters tend to not bother them (because of the onion smell).

Pros: They are very low maintenance and pest resistant. Most varieties are also quite reasonably priced (less than $1 a piece). Additionally you can leave the dried seed heads on to provide additional interest. Also they don’t need stacking.

Cons: I can’t think of any.

Origin: Varies.

Varieties: There are a LOT of varieties to choose from. I recommend picking several from different blooming periods. 

‘Purple Sensation’ – 20″-30″ tall, baseball sized flowers, blooms late spring (can be grown in part shade). Quite reasonably priced.

Drum Stick

‘Sphaerocephalon’ (drum stick) 18″-24″ tall, golf ball sized flowers (reddish purple), blooms mid summer, very old variety, looks best when large quantity are planted. I have quite a few of these. The leaves look like onion grass, so be careful not to pull them out when weeding (which I have done). Very inexpensive!

‘Schubertii – 18″ tall, volleyball size flowers (light purple), blooms very late spring (mine will probably bloom in a week or so). These are magical looking. They are kind of short on the stem, so they need to be towards the front of th e bed so they aren’t hidden by something else, but the flowers are enormous and very interesting.

‘Neapolitanum’ – 12-14″ tall, quarter size flower (white), late spring. Inexpensive, should be planted in mass.

Shubertii

Others (come in colors ranging from purples to white with a couple of varieties in yellow and pink) : Globemaster (extra large and pricey), Christophii, Ambassador, Graceful…

Interesting Pairings: For a couple of interesting companion planting ideas check out www.plantswise.com and her beautiful combination of coral bells/heuchera ‘carmel’ with Allium karataviense and Artemisia with Allium sphaerocephalon.  Apparently the heuchera ‘carmel’ (which I have quite a bit of) can grow in a more sunny location (mine grow in part shade). I may still try this out in the fall.

*The Plant of the Week is based on plants that do well in my 7a/6b garden in SE Pennsylvania.

4 Comments

4 responses to Plant of the Week: Alliums (Ornamental Onions)

  1. You’ve inspired me to research these and to pick a few to plant in the imaginary garden in the fall, thanks!

    • I think I am going to see who wants to order bulbs from Brent and Becky’s and make a giant order this fall! I also have a special bulb drill bit for putting them in even faster.

Trackbacks and Pingbacks:

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    […] my alliums had barely come out of the ground. And yesterday I already saw the first of the flowers. Alliums are definitely in my top ten garden plants and this year I planted a bunch more of the Purple […]

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