About
This bulbous perennial reaches a height of 35 cm and features slender, grass-like leaves that can grow up to 30 cm long. It produces thin stems that support loose clusters of flowers, measuring 2.5 cm across. Each cluster can contain as many as 25 cup-shaped blooms, which are white or pale pink adorned with maroon spots, blooming in the autumn.
About the genus
Allium consists of bulbous herbaceous perennials characterized by a pronounced onion or garlic aroma. They feature linear, strap-like, or cylindrical leaves that arise from the base. The flowers, which can be star-shaped or bell-shaped, are arranged in an umbel atop a stem that lacks leaves.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained, Well-drained
- Aspect
- South-facing, West-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H5
Plant details
- Plant type
- Bulbs
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Spread
- 0-0.1 metre
- Time to full height
- 1-2 years
- Suggested uses
- City and courtyard gardens, Coastal, Cottage and informal garden, Gravel garden, Patio and container plants, Wildlife gardens
- Native to
- Crete Turkey
- Fragrance
- Foliage
- Toxicity
- TOXIC to pets - see the HTA guide to potentially harmful plants for further information and useful contact numbers
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Grow in full sun and fertile well-drained soil. It is best to grow in containers where garden soil is heavy clay and prone to saturation over winter. See allium cultivation
- Pruning
- No pruning required, other than to remove old flowered stems and foliage
- Propagation
- Propagate by offsets which can be carefully detached by lifting the bulb after flowering has finished. See bulb propagation
- Pest resistance
- May be susceptible to allium leaf miner and onion fly
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to onion white rot, and onion downy mildew