Gardeners love allium flowers

Love allium flowers

It is impossible to quickly summarize allium flowers, a vast group of perennial, edible and ornamental plants of various sizes, shapes, colors and flowering times. But singing their praises is easy.

Alliums, a member of the onion family of about 1,000 species, grow in most climates and bloom from early spring to fall and later in temperate climates. Most are drought tolerant and grow best in full sun, although some tolerate shade. Their variegated flowers are a paradise for pollinators, but animals turn their noses up.

Top 10 Allium Varieties We Love

1. Globemaster

A hybrid cross between two species, Globemaster is considered one of the best and most beloved of the tall spring-flowering varieties. Covered with hundreds of individual flowers, the purple spheres grow 8 to 10 inches wide and look wonderful in a vase. Look for larger bulbs for bigger flowers.

Why we love it: Sturdy 2- to 3-foot stems add vertical interest and stand up to wind and rain.

2. Ambassador

Many spring-blooming alliums bear similar vase displays, but they all behave differently. Ambassador is a tall plant, 3 to 4 feet tall, with 7-inch, rich purple globes. Plant a few varieties of allium that bloom continuously. The tips of the leaves turn brown before the flowers open.

Why we love it: It attracts bees and other pollinators during its long five-week bloom period.

3. Persian Shallot

For stunning white counterparts planted next to tall purple spring-blooming varieties, look to White Giant, which grows 3 to 4 feet tall with flower clusters 6 to 8 inches across, or Everest, which grows to 36 inches tall. Flowers on stems 4-inches wide.

Why we love it: Clusters of bright white blooms resemble fluffy snowballs on stems. Use these beauties to add a whimsical twist to arrangements.

4. Millennium

This perennial flowering plant grows in clumps with a divisible fibrous root system. Its pale purple globes are just 2 inches wide, and its low height makes it easy to fit into almost any garden. The glossy green flat leaves are elegant even when the plant is not in bloom.

Why we love it: This award-winner was named the 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year by the Perennial Plant Society.

5. Fireworks

This allium explodes like fireworks with a rosy purple bloom cluster of 50 to 100 shooting flowers 9 to 12 inches wide. The entire inflorescence falls when the stem dries, rolling and dispersing the seeds in the wind like tumbleweed—sometimes called tumbleweed onions.

Why we love it: Use dried flower heads and stems in arrangements; You can spray-paint them for even more color!

6. Garlic with yellow flowers

It's not a common sight in American gardens, but this tender allium is an easy plant to grow in late spring and early summer. Fragrant yellow flowers sit on wiry, thin stems above blue-green leaves. Remember where it was planted; The slender leaves resemble grass until it blooms.

Why we love it: Naturalize this bulb where it does best, producing lemon-yellow flowers.

7. Ivory Queen

Ivory Queen is an excellent foreground allium with bold bluish-green leaves that are as attractive as the 3-inch white balls above them. If you can't find this cultivar, stick to the straight species, which have pale pink umbels instead of snow white.

Why we love it: A low stem means close-to-the-earth flower power.