How to Grow Allium
Grow Allium in Your Home Garden
Allium is a lovely perennial that is used in many home flower gardens. It is easy to grow and looks great combined with a large number of shorter, bushier plants and flowers. Here are some tips to help you grow great Allium in your home garden.
The leaves of the Allium are fleshy and straplike. It will produce a cluster of small flowers and these come in many colors, depending on the variety. The colors include yellow, white, pink, purple, and blue. This perennial is an ornamental onion that produces foliage that will stay green during the entire growing season.
Alliums will grow best in average to rich soil that is well drained. They grow best in an area that gets full sun. Some varieties will need an area with good drainage and soil that is almost dry after they produce their flowers.
The bulbs of the Allium should be planted during the cool fall months. The top of the bulb should be at least three times the height of the bulb under the soil. If they become too crowded, the bulbs should be divided after they become dormant. This is usually after the flowers have wilted. Do not dig up or disturb the bulbs while the flowers are blooming, as this has the potential of damaging the plant.
Another way to plant Alliums is by seed. Fresh seeds of this perennial plant should be sown outside during the summer or fall months. You can get the seeds from the spent flowers after they have dried or possibly at a local nursery or flower shop. If you do not want the plants to self-seed, be sure and pick the spent flowers before they dry out and the seeds drop off.
The taller varieties of Allium make a lovely planting in the middle of a perennial border planting. They will combine well with plants that mound, such as cranesbills or bee balms. The tallest of this perennial can be used as a backdrop to shorter plants in foundation plantings or along fences. Plant Alliums with herbs or bushy plants to help hide the yellow leaves of the other plants after they start to wither.
No matter where you plant them, Alliums will make a bold statement in your home flower gardens. Their color and height make them easy to pick out from the other plants around them. Hopefully, these tips will help you grow great Allium plants in your home garden.