A lot of people don’t actually see
onions as beautiful plants, but the truth is that onions as a plant have some
very close cousins that certainly deserve a place in your flower garden.
Alliums are fast-growing ornamental plant that can grow taller and they also
have round flower heads that is composed of dozens of star-shaped flowers.
Allium plants are not edible but their leaves actually have a slight onion-like
scent when they are crushed. Allium plants are not also bothered by rodents or
deer, and there are also plenty of them to choose from for any garden. Below is
the basic information about Allium plant;
The botanical name: The botanical
name is Allium.
The common name: The common name is
Ornamental Allium.
The plant type: The plant is a Bulb or rhizome.
The mature size: The mature size is
about one to four feet tall, three to ten inches wide.
The sun exposure: Allium prefers full
sun.
The soil type: The soil must be
well-draining.
The soil pH: This should be around
5.5-6.5
The blooming time: The blooming time
is spring, although there are fall bloomers.
The flower color: The flower colors
are yellow, pink, white, purple, and green.
Plant hardiness zones: USDA 4-10
The native area: Allium is native to
Middle East.
Plant toxicity: The plant is mildly
toxic to humans and also toxic to cats and dogs.
Allium Varieties
There are different varieties of
Allium. The following are the varieties of Allium;
-
Drumstick Allium variety: The
Drumstick Allium variety look best when they are actually allowed to waft their
way throughout the garden so that they can surprise you by peeking out through
other flowers. The plant flower clusters actually bloom in early summer.
-
Corkscrew Allium variety: This
particular Allium has blue-green leaves that twist and turn giving the plant
its common name. Corkscrew Allium is grown from rhizomes rather than a bulb and
it can be found in the perennial section of garden centers.
-
Globemaster Allium variety: The
Globemaster Allium flower stalks are really super-sized and the plant can reach
about three to four feet tall, and they are topped with flowers that form a
ball that is about eight to ten inches in diameter.
-
The Japanese onion: The Japanese
onion offers small 1-inch pink flower heads that bloom in early fall, the plant
also form more of a mop than a round globe. The Japanese onion is grown from
rhizomes rather than forming bulbs, and they are also available in containers.
-
The Nodding onion: The Nodding onion
produces flopping mop heads of flowers in pretty shades of purple and pink. The
plant flower stems is about two to three feet. This particular variety of
Allium is the most widely adaptable alliums and they can even be grown well in
partial shade.
-
Allium Purple Sensation: The Allium
purple sensation flower stalks can reach about two feet tall and they are
topped with a two to four inch globe of bright purple flowers. The plant tends
to be a long-lived bulb, but the plant leaves tend to get brown or yellow quite
early.
-
Schubert Allium variety: This
particular plant flower heads really look like a fireworks display. The plant
retains their explosive look even as they fade. Another name for this variety
of Allium is tumbleweed onion.
How to grow Allium Bulb
Actually, most Alliums are
bulb-forming, although there are some that grows from rhizomes, just exactly
the way common chives do.
There are some Alliums bulbs that
grow quickly and bloom in the spring or early summer after the earliest spring
bulbs have faded.
Light requirement
Place your Alliums in a site that
gets a full day of sun for the best flowering and healthiest plants. The
Alliums will grow in partial shade, give them as much sun as you can since so
many of them have short seasons.
Soil requirement
This plant actually prefers a soil pH
that is slightly acidic, within 5.5 to 6.5. On the other hand how well the soil
drains is far more important than soil pH. Make sure you don’t let the bulbs
sit in damp soil, most especially during their dormant season. If the bulb
remain wet for too long they will rot. You can also add a good amount of
organic matter to the soil before planting to improve draining, by so allowing
enough water to reach the bulbs.
Water requirement
This plant need infrequent watering,
and if it rains often in your area that should do the trick. If not, watering
every 3 to 5 days is fine.
Temperature and Humidity requirement
The plant hardiness actually depends
on the variety that being grown and the growing conditions, however most
Alliums plants do well in USDA hardiness zones four to ten.
Fertilizer requirement
If you amend your soil on a regular
basis, you actually may not need to feed the plant at all. On the other hand if
your soil is less than ideal, a little balanced fertilizer as they start to set
flowers will really help the Alliums plant replenish all the energy they use
blooming.
Growing Alliums in the garden
The following are the steps on how to
grow Allium bulbs in the garden;
- You need to wait until the soil is
about 60 degrees Fahrenheit or colder. If you are in the North this will be in
September or October, but if you are in the South it is October or November.
- Make sure you pick a spot in your
garden that has well-draining soil and that gets full sun.
- Make sure you plant the Allium
bulbs about four to eight deep and six to eight apart, placing the Allium bulb
in the ground with their pointy ends up.
- Water the Allium bulbs well once
and then wait for spring.
- After the Allium plant has bloomed,
make sure you don’t cut off the foliage. You can leave it until it is
completely withered and yellow, and then remove it.
Growing Alliums in containers
Allium can be grown in containers.
The following are the steps on how to grow Allium in containers;
- You have to wait until it’s cold
outside, with a soil temperature of about sixty degrees Fahrenheit or even
lower. If you are in the North this will be in September or October, but if you
are in the South it is October or November.
- You have to pick a spot in your
garden that really gets full sun.
- You have to find a well-draining
container and then fill it with loose soil, make sure that water those not
gather and stay at the bottom.
- make sure you plant the Allium bulbs about four
to eight deep and six to eight apart and also place them in the soil with their
pointy ends up. Most containers has limited space, you can place the Allium
bulbs closer together, but make sure they don’t touch.
- Water them well once and then wait
for spring. But if you live in hardiness zone 3-7, you have to water them well
and then bring the containers indoors, in other to let them spend the winter in
a cool spot.
- After the alliums plant has
bloomed, make sure you don’t cut off the foliage. You can leave them until they
are completely withered and yellow, and then remove.
Pest and disease control
Allium plants don't actually attract
too many pests. Deer and rodents normally avoid Allium plants.
Allium plants can be infected with
some few fungal diseases such as rot and downy mildew, these disease are not a
serious problem in a flower border when compare in a vegetable garden. To
actually fix this problem, try and avoid overhead watering and also remove the
infected Allium bulbs.
As for insect pests on the plant, try
and always watch out for snails and slugs as well as the Allium leaf miner.
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