All About Allium

As a lover of all plants purple, alliums have a special place in the garden for me.  In the Amaryllidaceae family, ornamental onions are favorites for providing color and character in the garden.  They look fabulous with perennial plants and when planted in groups of three.

For me, the allium is all about structure and anticipation.  Blooms are relatively long-lived, compared to tulips and other bulbs.  Even better, they look great dried, and in that form, I can enjoy them all year.  

I’ve selected a few varieties for my sun-challenged garden, so that I have a sequence of them passing through the garden from late April through the end of July. 

Allium karataviense

For something low growing and compact at the front of the border, but mostly to diversify from my usual attachment to purple, I have added Allium Karataviense, or Turkistan onion, The emerging foilage in the early spring is gray-green, with a bit of purple, which looks exotic after a long Pacific Northwest winter and is very refreshing to see.  The bloom is soft pink fading to white.  Its been selected as a Great Plant Pick for the PNW. 

Allium ‘Globemaster’

For the impact of color and sheer size, Allium ‘Globemaster’ makes a powerful statement from afar.These big and bold alliums come back every year and will colonize, though apparently not in my sun-challenged garden!  I’ve added a few every year for impact.

Allium schubertii

Commonly called tumbleweed onion, Allium schubertii is over the top.  The flower can measure over 12 inches wide.  Tiny pink/purple flowers explode outward on thin stems, giving the appearance of exploding fireworks.  It’s fun and the dried blooms look exotic in the garden.  They look great dried too!

Allium cristophii or Star of Persia

My new favorite, Allium cristophii, has so much character.  After admiring them in client’s gardens, I planted 50 last fall.  I spent the 2020 COVID19 spring and summer watching them do their thing.  Now drying in the garden, their stems are still a vibrant purple.  I’ve taken the first dried stems inside. The exuberant process of the onion’s bloom opening offered something entertaining and different to see daily, serving as a good marker of time passing.  Each stem can have over 100 flowers.

Allium phaerocephalon

The final allium to bloom in my garden this year is the Allium sphaerocephalon, or drumstick allium.  With smaller, dense blooms that grow tall on slender stems, these are best massed for maximum effect; something I did not do.  Next time!

Now’s the time to start thinking about next year’s alliums (and other fall planted bulbs)!  It’s not too early to create your bulb planting plan and place your order.  One of our favorite resources is Van Engelen. Of course, we are always here to help too.