The genusAllium(commonly known as onion ) lie in of several species that many northern nurseryman get it on well , most commonlychiveswhich have been used for aeon in cooking .
But , in late years , there has been an explosion of ornamental onion cultivars . If you are looking for perennials that really are easy to grow , this plant is for you . Few perennials are as sluttish care and beautiful as ornamental Allium cepa .
I ’d like to play up three groovy cultivars that you’re able to well come up at your local garden heart . What I really like about these is that you canextend the bloom timein your garden by planting all three and they will bloom one right after the other . I ’ll get down with the former bloomer :
Summer Beauty
‘ Summer Beauty ’
The cultivar ‘ Summer Beauty ’ has been available for several years and for many nurseryman , was the first ornamental onion we put in our perennial gardens . Blooming in midsummer , the foliage count like Allium schoenoprasum and the 2 - inch orotund pink violet bloom heads climb just above the foliage . The flowers are sterile so no vexation about invasiveness , which is a job with some bulbousAlliumthat are heavy seeder . This variety matures at 12 to 18 inches tall and just a bit wider . It has an upright , vase configuration to it .
‘ Millenium ’
Allium ‘Millenium’
Allium‘Millenium ’ was the 2018Perennial Plant Association Plant of the Yearand you may have see mass of promotion about it then . A very intemperate boo-boo , it take off flowering just as ‘ Summer Beauty ’ is finishing . The flush are more of a rosy purplish shade and are slimly big than 2 inches in diameter . It reaches a ripe height of 15 to 20 in and spread out only 10 to 15 inches .
‘ Medusa ’
Allium‘Medusa ’ PP28701 is a 2017 introduction . It is one of the last to bloom in summer . Medusa ’s foliation is a morsel dissimilar - it twists and snakes and is a grey - green in colour . The name is a outcry - out to the mythological Medusa who had Snake River for hairsbreadth . The 2 - column inch blossom are a light amethyst purple in colour . Slightly taller than the others , it can reach a height and spread of 24 inch .
Medusa
Grow Tips for Ornamental onion plant
Truly these plant are gentle to grow , almost hard to kill ! They thrive in full sun sites and can abide territory that are ironic . They will also tolerant salinity , making them appropriate for boulevard planting . They need no extra winter covering in most of Minnesota , as they are unfearing to USDA Zone 4 . I suspect they may tolerate zona 3 with good snow cover , too . Another benefit : the cervid and cony just do n’t like that onion preference and feeling of the foliage , so they stay away . Yet , the plants appeal bee , butterfly stroke and other pollinator . And , they make great baseball swing flowers so use them in your summer bouquets . I prefer to veer myAlliumback in the saltation , leaving the spent flower heads to collect some snow in the wintertime .
These are just great in a recurrent garden and because of their mature size are used in the midsection of the garden , just behind the low plants . I love using them in mint of three , five or seven plants to really make an encroachment . Because of that long strappy leaf , use them in combination with perennial with larger leafage , such as crane’s bill .
This clause byDebbie Lonneefirst appeared in the January / February 2020 event ofNorthern Gardener ® magazine .
To learn more , join a webinar or shop …
UPCOMING form
