They are critter-proof. They will mow down everything else in your yard before they touch these.

Do they eat the bulbs, which are highly edible as we know? Alliums are just a kind of onion.

Never had anything eat any of my alliums above or below

In my experience, never. I've not had bulbs, stems, blossoms or leaves eaten, and I've been growing several varieties of ornamental alliums (as well as culinary) for about 15 years. I think that the strong flavor is not palatable to critters like voles, mice, woodchucks, and squirrels.

This is good news and I thank you for the replies. I don't understand it--we eat onions-- but I'm glad to hear it. There are so many great looking alliums in the bulb catalogs.

Just be glad they leave us something!

Been growing them for over 40 years, got eight varieties in the garden now,
never lost a single one. . .

Besides, if you DID lose one, you could track that critter down in no time
thanks to a case of really bad breath. . .

Carl

OK that's weird. I posted a reply to this thread, actually SAW it on this board, and now it's gone! hmmm...

I'll try it again. Like you, Ginny, I've admired alliums in other people's gardens for many years now, and I'm planning to order and plant some bulbs this fall. (I received a catalog from Wayside Gardens offering 6 varieties of beautiful alliums. Anyone ever bought from them?)

So anyways it is good news to hear that alliums are not on the critter lunch menu! There is a short statement to that effect in the catalog too.

I'd trust the info from people here way more than any catalog. There are some good catalogs, like Old House Gardens or Scheepers, but I don't have confidence in Wayside Gardens.

Many years ago, they were among the best and kept the torch of perennial gardening alive when it wasn't very popular. but they have been sold and resold and long since moved from their original Ohio location. They are not the worst but are far from the best, IMHO.

Check the Garden Watchdog ratings--they are a good guide.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden Watchdog

Thank you for the warnings about Wayside Gardens. It is sad when a formerly good nursery (or any business for that matter) goes downhill. I see now that Wayside is affiliated with/owned by Park seed which also used to be among the best seed catalogs.

The link you posted did not work for me, but I found it here:
http://davesgarden.com/products/gwd/

Wayside has LOTS of bad reviews, outnumbering the good press by about 3-1. Most pertain to plants which are probably more likely to suffer damage in shipment and handling than bulbs, but still...

It was frustrating at first trying to find allium on websites of those places with good reviews, as many don't appear to stock allium, or else they seem unweb-savvy and are geared to catalog orders. (I generally order online. Catalogs act mainly an advert for me to order from a company's online site.)

However I found that bluestoneperennials.com has a very nice selection of allium varieties, so I guess I'll give them a try. They have a few negatives, but primarily good feedback, infinitely more confidence inspiring than Wayside's reviews.

Thanks for the link to nursery ratings. It was immeasurably helpful and doubtless saved me frustration!

Let me quickly second Ginny's comments about Wayside. . .I order virtually
all of my bulbs from just two sources, and you will find dozens more choices
of alliums from both of them, than you will from Wayside.

www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com

www.johnscheepers.com

Carl