Allium Garden Plants

Spring-Blooming Alliums

• Turkestan alliums produce beige, pink or purple flowers in dense, globe-shaped clusters. The flowers bloom on short stems amid broad, straplike leaves. Tumbleweed onion produces huge, 12-inch flower heads composed of small star-shaped florets. The individual rose-pink flowerets are held by stems of different lengths, resulting in a loose, spiderlike structure. Not as hardy as other alliums, tumbleweed onion grows best in USDA zones 7 to 9.

Summer-Blooming Alliums

• The star of Persia's 8- to 10-inch flower heads are composed of up to 80 pinkish-lilac, star-shaped flowers with silvery highlights. The foliage begins deteriorating when the flowers bloom, so plant star of Persia behind plants that are 10 inches or shorter to hide the unsightly mess. Drumstick alliums produce dense, compact, deep purple flower heads that last a long time. The oval flower heads are 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Both drumstick alliums and star of Persia make good cut flowers and they dry well for everlasting arrangements.

Late Summer- and Fall-Blooming Alliums

• Hair allium's unique appearance demands attention, but it isn't for everyone. Considered a novelty bulb, hair allium produces several thin, tentaclelike flowers that protrude erratically from a purple base. Circle allium's showy, deep pink flowers and corkscrewlike foliage look good in the front of a border and in rock gardens. The foliage on these alliums doesn't deteriorate at bloom time and the flowers last well into fall. Circle allium is also called curly allium.

A. Moly

• A. moly is unique among alliums because it grows in partial shade. The 1-foot-tall plants produce loose umbrels of bright yellow, star-shaped flowers in early spring. They bloom best with morning sun and afternoon shade and make a good companion for lily of the valley. A. moly also grows in full sun.

Care

• Fertilize alliums in spring and fall with a complete fertilizer. Even if the foliage has already deteriorated, fertilizer applied in fall will feed the roots and bulbs. Water during the growing season when rainfall is less than an inch per week. Clip out faded flowers at the base of the stalk to keep the plant blooming. Apply a thin layer of mulch to discourage weeds and help the soil hold moisture.