Hallson Gardens

Hi, I have grown society garlic and chives, but no alliums other than garden onions. If I buy one large bulb, will it multiply well for me or am I better off purchasing a few?

I'm mixing perrenials in with my hostas and I have a sunny section which may do well and I love bulbs. I'd like to have (eventually) a small clump of monster alliums. We had some in our garden in Germany that had obviously been there for several years and I loved the texture of and presence of the flowers and the seed heads alike.

I am looking at either 'Ambassador' or 'Gigantium' or 'globemaster'...does anyone have experience with any of these? I'd like a tightly formed flower clump. Do alliums perform well as cut flowers?

Thanks!

Laura
aka 'Largo's Mom'

Hi Laura,

I personally think they do better when you plant a few larger bulbs at once. Tends to make a better showing. I'm not sure how well they do as cut flowers, though. As I'm sure you know, the foliage dies back and they disappear for the summer, so I tuck them in between other plants that will just cover up that spot later in the season.

Hope that helps.

Chris

It does help, thanks, Chris, that is what I was looking for.

We have a new oval "berm" bed with daylilies planted in a staggered row on a long diagonal. We have interplanted Allium schubertii and A. sphaerocephalon (drumstick allium) among them, thinking the flowers will raise above the daylily foliage (before daylily season) and the daylily foliage will hide the fading allium foliage. The flower head of A. schubertii actually does better as single bulbs (they're so big, and not that tall), but we planted the drumsticks in clumps.

The big alliums make great cut flowers (no worries about smell). A. schubertii (and others like A. christophii) are fabulous as dried seed-heads as well.

Thanks, Tigger!

I've had alliums in my garden for 4 years. I can tell you that the larger alliums do not multiply as well as the smaller ones.

I wish I could remember which varieties I have. The ones that I got from Home Depot a couple years ago (a dozen bulbs for like $5) are multiplying like crazy. The bigger bulbs don't seem to be multiplying much at all.

Last year at the AHS Convention optional tour, I fell in love with an idea new to me. Once the allium flowers have fallen off and you're left with a bare "globe" (seedhead), you spray paint it in blue/periwinkle/purple and it brings it back to "life" in the garden!

I loved the seedheads on the alliums in our garden in Germany...they would fill your hand with their rubbery seed "nubs"...I love the texture of them. Not sure I'd spray them but what the heck, do what makes you happy! With a really big one, you could use glow in the dark paint and use it to find your way around.

largosmom wrote:I loved the seedheads on the alliums in our garden in Germany...they would fill your hand with their rubbery seed "nubs"...I love the texture of them. Not sure I'd spray them but what the heck, do what makes you happy! With a really big one, you could use glow in the dark paint and use it to find your way around.

LOL. That's funny!

I found this pic.... I think the blue is a bit obnoxious, but you get the idea. I've also heard of spraying them silver to use in holiday decor. I might have to give that a try after painting them purple!


And for someone who really wants to go overboard in the garden:


Perhaps an interesting idea might be to get some aged-bronze colored spray paint... spray 'em, stem included, and they'd look like metal garden art.

I am surprised, but those actually look pretty cool! Love the idea of bronze seed heads, a garden needs a sense of humor.

I have used the big ones 3 planted together for years, 3 make 5 to 6 next year here, but at my new home there is a big Special home for menthaly retarded people close by and the plant the big ones one by one with a distance of arms spread ( ) lenght of both arms and it looks so good, but may need a long bed.

I use them for X-Mas decorations and spray them if I like, but I have never sprayed them in the garden... but it looks good, so who knows

To collect bulb division should they be dug when they go dormant and seperated?

They are hardy and unproblematic here, but you have to check for your zone
Pia