Don’t forget about those spring flowering bulbs
IN THE GARDEN
And the winner is: well that depends on the competition, and this isn’t really a competition. It’s the result of serious deliberation by members of the Perennial Plant Association, who have awarded Perennial Plant of the Year 2018 to … an onion.
Yes, an onion, except it isn’t the edible kind. Chances are, along with other spring bulbs, this fall you’ve been planting ornamental onions, better known as alliums.
There are about 900 hundred species of alliums, and among them are familiar culinary ones like garlic, chives, leeks, shallots and, of course, onions. Then there are the ornamentals with their familiar lollipop flowers ranging in size from the tiny Allium christophii, commonly called star of Persia to the 25-centimetre Globemaster. These flower in spring, like most alliums.
There is, however, another one that flowers in late summer and, unlike typical alliums, has neat green foliage that stays attractive all-season long. The name is Allium ‘Millenium’ and it’s the 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year. Yes, that is the correct spelling (just one letter ‘n’ instead of two) as given to it by the breeder Mark McDonough.
Misspelled or intentional, it was registered that way. First introduced back in 2000, it’s been shown to be an exceptional plant well deserving of its title, a title that is not bestowed lightly. New hybrids are announced with great fanfare, but to achieve this honour a plant has to prove itself by living up to its expectations, hence the time lag between introduction and award.
Allium ‘Millenium’ grows best in full sun where it typically produces a clump of grasslike, deep green foliage in spring that reach about 25 to 30 cm. Drought resistant, in midsummer, long after the scraggly foliage of other alliums has yellowed, up pop the scapes that produce two to three perfectly round, rose-purple blooms that last as long as four weeks. Even after the colour fades and they go to seed, like other alliums they remain attractive, and because the seeds on this variety are sterile, they won’t become a game of whack-a-mole around the garden. It’s an easy to grow plant that’s hardy to zone 4 and rabbit resistant.
Because it’s clump forming, similar to chives, it can be divided as it matures and as such it’s more likely sold as an actual plant rather than as a single bulb, that can be planted in spring or in fall.
And why do we plant our spring flowering bulbs in fall, anyway? It’s mainly because these bulbs aren’t around in spring, but they can just as easily be planted in late spring or early summer during their dormant period.
One reason we plant them in fall because it’s more convenient for the bulb producers. It gives them more time to harvest the bulbs and prepare them. After cleaning, sorting, and inspecting, they’re kept in climatecontrolled conditions before being packed and shipped for fall sales.
Right now, garden stores are full of bulbs and the rush is on to plant them before the weather turns miserable. And in that rush, someone is so busy preparing for Halloween that the bag is set aside and only discovered after the ground is frozen. I’ve often been asked what do with these surprising finds.
The best thing to do is store them in a cool, dark place until they can be planted. If that means spring, they’ll naturally stay dormant through summer until the cool weather of fall when they begin to send out roots again.
Necessary winter cold will then trigger the process for spring flowering.
There’s still plenty of time to plant your bulbs. You might not find Allium ‘Millenium’ among the bulbs now, but it should be available as a plant at garden centres in spring.
To chat with local gardeners, share tips, pics, or discuss alliums zones, see Grand Gardeners on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/Grandgardeners/.