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covella

ornamental allium multiplying

covella
19 years ago

Can anyone tell me which ornamental alliums do not multiply invasively? I have A. christophii and A. Mt. Everest which are very tame - a few offsets some years and slowly multiplying. I was told that A. Moly will multiply just like chives and would be everywhere - I just hate how much work that is to yank out - or dig one at a time.

Here are the ones I'm interested in from the Van Engelen catalog:

Allium azureum - blue, June

Allium cowanii - white, May blooming

Allium flavum - Small Yellow Onion June/July

Allium ostrowskianum, Syn: A. oreophilum - pink May/June

Allium pulchellum, Syn: A. carinatum, red-violet June/July

Allium triquetrum white May to July

Allium schubertii - purple May/June

Allium sphaerocephalon - purple Syn: The Drumstick Allium. "Great naturalizer with dense, crimson-purple, egg-shaped flowers". July - does naturalize mean a larger clump or takes over the world with seed?

I have a significant deer population and am working on adding alliums to my beds instead of lilies. Van Englelen has a good selection and their 2005 catalog will be posted in May - trying to plan ahead. I'm going to cross-post to the perennials forum. Thanks!

Comments (5)

  • carol23_gw
    19 years ago

    Allium schubertii isn't hardy here in zone 6. Brent and Becky's list it as zone 7. I've planted it before and it died out.
    Allium pulchellum has re-seeded quite a lot in a local garden. It might depend on the drainage.
    I think Allium azureum produces bulblets in the flower clusters. I'm growing these and love the color. So far I've not thought of them as invasive but sometimes it takes several years to know.

  • bejoy_gw
    19 years ago

    I can't be of much help..as the only allium I have other than Allium Schubertii (which doesn't multiply fast enough) is Allium triquetrum which in zone 8 here is very invasive...but so pretty I keep it anyway. I don't know what it would do in your zone.

    Here is a link that might be useful: My exchange page

  • jfadmz
    4 years ago

    A. cowanii is a prolific spreader here in Dallas, but I don’t think I would call it invasive. It’s very nice, basically a much bigger version of A. neapolitanium—much bigger leaves, much bigger flowers. The leaves are damaged by late freezes, as with A. neapolitanum. They turn white with a mushy, fleshy texture for a while, then become papery. Freeze damage to the leaves doesn’t affect the flowering. The flowers have a pleasant, sweet scent, but the stems smell oniony when cut. They readily hybridize with A. neapolitanum, with the cowanii features dominating, so if you want both, I would plant them apart from each other. Here they bloom in March and April, and disappear without a trace by late May or June. Nice plant that spreads a little, but is easy to keep under control.

  • jfadmz
    4 years ago

    A. sphaerocephalon is very weedy. It reseeds to an extreme degree here in Dallas, zone 8, and must be thinned annually to keep the plants at a showy, ornamental size. Left on their own, you end up with a bunch of overcrowded, spindly, sad plants.

  • jfadmz
    4 years ago

    Check out the native wild alliums where you live. Some are rampant weeds, like most Allium canadense strains, A. vineale, and others, although I think it makes my lawn smell like a French bistro when I mow them down. Some are beautiful, like A. drummondii and A. stellatum. In zone 6, you should be able to grow ramps, A. tricoccum, and ramsons, A. ursinum. Both are pretty, and pretty tasty as well. Many culinary varieties of onions, garlic, chives, leeks, etc. have showy flowers if you don’t harvest them for the kitchen before they bloom.