NOW IS THE TIME TO PLANT ALLIUM BULBS FOR LONG-LASTING SUMMER
The Perennial Plant Association hit pure gold by voting Allium Millennium the Perennial Plant of the Year. A hardy perennial to zone four, this allium is compact (30 to 45 centimetres tall and wide), has rich purple, globeshaped blooms from June to August and is a pollinator magnet. I’m so impressed with this plant. Now is the time to plant bulbous alliums to enjoy nine months down the road when all the other spring bulbs have long finished.
The best ornamental alliums are East Asian and European natives.
In garden stores, they have always had a presence in fall bulb selections along with tulips, narcissus, hyacinths and minor bulbs, but over the last 10 to 15 years they have grown in popularity.
Carl Van Noort of Van Noort Bulb Co. — one of Canada’s largest bulb suppliers — is also a big fan of alliums.
He said all of them, from the small-flowered, yellow Allium moly popping up in June to the July-flowering giants, like Allium Globemaster with its 20-to25-cm blooms held aloft on sturdy stems, are striking in the landscape. They flower at a time when many gardens are at their weakest in terms of colour. Alliums make wonderful cut flowers, and they perennialize easily for a repeat performance year after year. Few other flowers attract pollinators like these garden novelties.
In areas where deer are problematic, alliums are seldom on their menu. Unlike many of their spring bulb counterparts, alliums bloom for a long time, and the large-flowering varieties transform from big balls of colour into elegant dried spheres that provide a uniquely decorative form in the garden. These beautiful dried blooms, arranged in a vase, are stunning, and they can last up to a year indoors.
I’ll always remember hosting a Garden Writers’ Association symposium in Vancouver and during a visit to Stanley Park, we were delighted to see that parks staff had picked a quantity of dried giant allium blooms and by poking the stems into the ground around a large piece of driftwood, had created a dramatic mass display. It was the photo-op of the day!
When the 200th Street overpass on Highway 1 was built and the landscaping completed, I was getting phone call after phone call to identify the strange flowering shrubs on the median. On my way to a flower auction early one morning, I pulled over to see what these strange shrubs might be. I laughed to discover that giant alliums were causing all the fuss.
Van Noort mentioned that the city of Vaughan in Ontario plants up to 4,000 Allium giganteum each year, to rave reviews.
Allium moly luteum has clusters of tiny 5-cm yellow flowers on 30-cm wiry stems. Ostrowskianum is similar but has pink flowers. Azureum is a little taller at 60 cm with larger striking blue flowers that are nicely perfumed. If it’s bees you are after, fragrant Allium bulgaricum (Nectaroscordum siculum) has green-purple flowers that hang upside down when open.
For medium-sized flowers, Ivory Queen is a compact plant (10 cm tall) with 7-cm blooms and large attractive strap-like leaves. One of the better-known varieties is Drumstick, with its 5-cm reddish purple flowers on 60-cm stems. They seem to bloom forever. Purple Sensation has quite large fragrant 15-cm blooms on long 90-cm stems.
The standard big guy, with 120-cm stems holding up 20-cm deep mauve globe flowers, is Allium giganteum. Ambassador is only a little smaller with 18-cm flowers on 100-cm stems. The eye-popper, however, is Allium Globemaster with its 25-cm blooms on 96-cm stems. All of these larger varieties are lightly perfumed.
Technically, the largest allium blooms are on Allium Christophii. Often called the Star of Persia, its 35-cm violet flowers have more of a starburst appearance. A similar variety, Allium Schubertii has 30-cm umbels of spidery-like or starburst pink flowers. Both produce wow displays, and their dried flowers are keepers.
As white is becoming the trending colour in the landscape, Allium Mount Everest has nice 15-cm pure white globes and grows 90 cm tall.
One of the most unique showstopper combinations that Van Noort Bulbs has produced is a mix of Mt. Everest and Allium giganteum called Double Bubble.
Bearing in mind that there are more than 500 species of allium, these are some of the most ornamental, and will add great interest and value to our summer gardens.
Most bulb vendors will have access to these amazing garden novelties, so the availability is good now.
Van Noort said that alliums are tough bulbs, and they sell them across the country, even in the Prairies. In colder climates, they need to be planted in well-drained soils and perhaps mulched during severe cold spells.
Allium is the ancient Latin name for garlic. So, like its allium cousins, garlic should also be planted now for harvesting scapes in June and, of course, the delicious garlic cloves in late July and August.