In the world of spring-blooming bulbs, alliums really are something special.
Seemingly designed by Dr. Seuss, they’d be the truffula trees of the flower world if they weren’t so perfectly spherical.
Also known as ornamental onions or flowering garlic, these dramatic spring bloomers most often feature globe-shaped flowers born on long stems.
And they need to be planted now, just like other spring-blooming bulbs such as tulips, ideally before Thanksgiving, but the sooner the better, and no later than Dec. 1.
Usually purple, though sometimes white, yellow, pink or pale blue, alliums provide some serious garden interest in mid- to late spring after the daffodils are done.
Globemaster is one of the largest-blooming varieties, featuring spheres 6 to 8 inches across on stems more than 3 feet tall.
Giganteum is among the tallest at 5 to 6 feet with globes up to 4 inches across.
Unfortunately, the largest, most showy allium bulbs often cost $5 to $8 each. And they really work best, design wise, when planted groups of 10 or more.
Ouch.
Then you have to wait until May or June to see them.
If you think of the plants, however, as the long-lived, show-stopping perennials they can be when grown correctly, alliums really are great investments for Northwest green thumbs, said Steve Smith, owner of Sunnyside Nursery in Marysville.
“They come back every year without you having to dig and divide them. And the deer won’t eat them and the squirrels won’t dig them up, so that is a plus, too,” Smith said. “Big ones are fabulous for a sunny border.”
Allium orbs are actually made of numerous small flowers borne in dense formations known as umbels.
Grapefruit-sized allium cristophii blooms feature more than 100 star-shaped, pinkish-purple flowers with a metallic sheen. Stunning in the garden, cristophii globes also dry well.
Alliums’ chief growing requirement is well-drained soil. Soggy soils can easily lead to bulb rot, according to UK gardening expert Helen Yemm.
In her 2011 book, “Grow Your Own Flowers,” Yemm calls the flowers fussy, requiring full sun and perfect drainage.
“Remember that many garden alliums come from the rocky soil of the eastern Mediterranean, and you need to replicate those harsh, dry conditions as nearly as possible if these bulbs are to be reliably perennial,” Yemm wrote, adding later. “When left in situ, and in growing conditions that suit them, alliums are trouble-free and need no special care.”
Smith said most varieties do just fine in maritime Northwest soils.
Some of the smaller, less expensive allium varieties — such as moly (a yellow variety sometimes sold as Jeannine) or azureum (a light blue one with 1-inch flowers) — can do almost too well, spreading by seed and bulblets born on mother plants, he said.
Some alliums also have undesirable foliage.
Larger-blooming varieties should be planted among other mid- to late-spring perennials to cover up their leaves, which fade or yellow early, usually before flowering is complete.
“They are best planted in the back of the border where all you see is the flower stalk and the dramatic bloom head,” Smith said.
Low-growing varieties such as allium karataviense, which grows only 10 inches high, should be planted in pots or near the front of a border.
Ted and Carol Janowicz of Everett turned heads this past summer on the Mukilteo Garden &Quilt Tour with a low-growing, pink-purple variety known as allium schubertii.
Though its overall height is usually no more than 2 feet, its huge flowers grow to more than 12 inches in diameter.
Unlike more common globe-shaped allium blooms, schubertii features a sparkler-like flower formation reminiscent of a Christmas tree topper or Sputnik-era satellite. (See tinyurl.com/schubertii for a picture of the variety in bloom.)
“Not much color, but great structure and perfect for drying or even spray-painting some exotic color,” said Smith, who is selling the variety this fall.
Resources
Retailers: Check with your local nursery for allium bulbs. Sunnyside Nursery is selling Ivory Queen, Purple Sensation, giganteum, schubertii and azureum varieties this fall: 3915 Sunnyside Blvd., Marysville; 425-334-2002; www.sunnysidenursery.net.
Books: See “Grow Your Own Flowers” by Helen Yemm for allium-growing instructions and top varieties. See the “A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants” from the American Horticultural Society for details on more than 70 varieties in the allium genus.
Sites: See the International Flower Bulb Centre, a site for consumers and industry people, at www.bulb.com.
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