
How to Grow Alliums: The Ornamental Onion
One bulb that is becoming more and more in demand is the Allium. There are TALL ones (3’–4’), TINY ones (4”–6”), and many heights in between. There are many colors of Allium flowers from which to choose: white, pink, blue, lavender, purple and yellow. Most Allium flowers are roundish; some are filled with florets and others are loosely formed so you can almost see through them. Some of the flowers are as small as a ping-pong ball; others are baseball-sized; some flowers are softball-sized and there is one that is volleyball or basketball-sized, depending on the nutrients in the soil and available moisture. All Alliums don’t bloom at the same time but generally bloom with the group that we have nicknamed ‘Bridge Flowers’—the ones that begin blooming when the late daffodils and tulips are beginning to fade with other Alliums blooming when the summer lilies begin to put on their show—bridging the gap between the ‘Spring Splash’ and the ‘Summer Show.’ This image was taken in our garden and has many of our nicknamed ‘Bridge Flowers.’ The ones that are roundish are Alliums. Of course, these are not all of them because, as we said before, they don’t all bloom





















