allium Archives - Page 2 of 2 - The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Allium Drumsticks (Ornamental Onion)

Posted on February 23, 2016 by jmarkowski Posted in Bulbs .

I may have been late to the Allium party, but I am definitely making up for lost time. Over the past 3 years, I’ve added at least 6 new Allium (ornamental onion) species/cultivars/varieties to my garden. The deer never touch them and they add a sweet pop of color throughout the spring and summer months. For today’s purposes, let’s chat a bit about Allium Drumsticks.

I added this bulb in fall of 2014 and within one year it is already kicking some major ass. I planted a lot of 15 of these in close proximity to each other and could not have been more thrilled with the results.

Starting in early summer, Allium Drumsticks buds started to transform from a green to a reddish purple color.

As the first wave of blooms on the bee balm (in the background) started to fade, Allium Drumsticks took over as seen below.

And the bees waste no time locating the blooms.

Within a week or two, they were in full egg-like bloom.

I’d estimate the blooms stayed at peak form for two weeks before the inevitable fade.

Together with the spent bee balm buds, they formed the ultimate in the late summer fading garden, which I still enjoy.

Some more Allium Drumsticks info:

Prefers full sun
Viable in zones 4A – 10B
1 to 3 feet in height
Blooms in mid-summer
Deer resistant
Best planted in the fall like most spring/summer bulbs
Best planted in drifts for the greatest garden impact
Naturalizes freely (will see if that is so with my conditions)
A great “peek through” plant (see bee balm combo above)
Susceptible to rotting in wet conditions

Because of that last note, I decided to craft this post sooner rather than later since there is a good chance my bulbs will have rotted come summer.

Fingers crossed.

Bulbs

Posted on October 3, 2014 by jmarkowski Posted in Bulbs .

I know what I am doing this weekend.

In a prior post, I waxed poetic about my new found love of Allium. After opening up the box from Bluestone Perennials this past week and seeing my beloved Allium bulbs inside, I am close to full blown swoon.

Daffodils are just about the only fail proof bulb for me as the deer and rabbits leave them alone, but most importantly, they seem unaffected by the poor draining and often times waterlogged soil. It has become a rite of fall to add as many of these as I possibly can. I am most excited by the ‘Green Pearl’ and in typical ONG fashion, I haven’t a clue as to where I will plant them.

Home boy is about to shake things up. Only once in the history of my gardening life have I attempted to plant Muscari. And that friggin bombed. I was presented with one small and pathetic bloom as all of the others failed to deliver.

And even if I am an extreme mouth breather with a deviated septum, I still am capable of smelling the sweet scent of the hyacinth. I miss it in the spring and desperately want to share the nasal pleasure with all of my visitors.

So with that in mind, I am going to give it a go in between my six Catmint planted along my front walkway. The soil here is actually very sandy and somewhat dry from when the walkway was installed almost a decade ago. The bulbs will not rot from the wet fall/winter/spring. I know, kind of an awesome idea.

How about you? What are your gardening plans this first weekend in October?

Allium time

Posted on September 5, 2014 by jmarkowski Posted in Blooms, Bulbs .

I am slowly becoming obsessed with Allium (or “ornamental onion” for you less evolved species). Three autumns ago I planted my first Allium bulbs and was all jacked up when most made an appearance that following spring:

I immediately fell in lust and was pleased to know that it was possible for the bulbs to not rot over the winter (for those uninformed, my soil drainage blows chunks).

Of course, they all ended up only surviving that spring and were not to be heard from again. But that was OK. It was a small financial investment and minimal sweat equity required for the reward of those phenomenal blooms.

Last fall, I gave it another shot and planted just one Allium ‘Globe Master’, that giant blooming onion I’ve seen in so many other gardens. While there was promise that this would return year after year, at $9.95 a bulb I decided to play it safe.

I can tell you now, it doesn’t matter if it fails to make a repeat showing in 2015. What I got in 2014 was enough for me:

The 8″ to 10″ bloom was such a presence and a focal point both in bloom and out of bloom:.

Hell, I even made it my social media profile pic when it was only partially in bloom:

It wasn’t until late July when the stem actually dislodged from the ground, so two and a half months of interest was worth the $9.95.

I also started to acquire some other perennial Allium in spring and added ‘Blue Eddy’ as a groundcover that not only bloomed in late July, but also avoided any destruction from the rabbits and the deer:

Allium ‘Mt. Sinai’ was also added and bloomed like mad from early August until now:

I will continue the hunt for additional cultivars this fall and hope and pray that my attempts to find areas of better drainage in my yard pay off and we have repeat bloomers next summer.

On top of that, I just placed an order with Bluestone Perennials for a whole bunch of different Allium bulbs that include (all photos from the Bluestone Perennials website):

Allium ‘Schubertii’: