Bulbs Allium

Where the garden meets the wild
ALLIUM ORNAMENTAL ONION Liliaceae (Lily family) / Alliaceae (Allium family)
SPECIES I - Z SPECIES A - H Return to Plants Index Bulbs Index


Allium sikkimense. Photograph © Paige Woodward

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	Allium insubricum Boissier & Reuter. Lombardy garlic. This nodding beauty is sometimes called A. narcissiflorum subsp. insubricum. Under any name it is hard to come by; first because it is uncommon, second because it has been too often dug from the wild and third because impostors abound. The real thing is native to stony slopes in the lake district of the Italian alps (that limestone-rich area known, with neighboring parts of Switzerland, as the Regio insubrica). Our plants have flowers that are pink rather than the common red-purple. They descend from bulbs wild-collected in 1981 by the nurseryman Teodoro Maranesi at 1300 m (4300') on Mount Grigna Meridionale, north of Lecco. The least we can do is keep this treasure-plant going. Height to 20 cm (8"). Zone 6, perhaps colder. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $6.75

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	*Allium jesdianum* Boissier & Buhse subsp. angustitepalum (Wendelbo) Khassanov & R.M. Fritsch 'Per Wendelbo'. Huge violet umbels, 15 cm (6") in diameter, bloom on 60-80 cm (24-30") stems in May-July. The florets have a white style. The wide leaves stay green during flowering. These are large bulbs that multiply slowly. Native to Afghanistan. Named for the outstanding Swedish plantsman who found it in 1962. Our plants descend from that original collection at Shahtu Pass in Bamian province. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $4.50

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	Allium jesdianum Boiss. & Buhse 'Michael H. Hoog'. Violet umbels 10 cm (4") in diameter flower in May-June on 100-cm (40") stems. Vigorous and floriferous; these bulbs multiply rapidly. Selected by Jánis Rukšáns from material collected in 1982 near the Akbulak River in Uzbekistan. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $3.00 or 3/$8.00

Photograph © Pat Woodward	Allium karataviense Regel subsp. henrikii Rukšāns. Ruby-toned and majestic, this plant is very different from the ground-hugging, pallid versions of karataviense commonly available. Our plant has starry 12-cm (5") umbels of metallic, red-purple florets that bloom in May-June on 30-40 cm (12-16") stems. Enhancing its charm is a faint, voluptuous but so far indefinable sweet-spicy scent, something like vanilla + seashore + wild rose. The species is native to Central Asia. Our bulbs of the subspecies, raised from seed, descend from material collected by Arnis Seisums and Jānis Rukšāns in the Karzhantau Range of Uzbekistan in 1996. We have offered it before as 'Red Globe.' In 2007 it was formally named in honor of Henrik Zetterlund of Göteborg Botanical Garden. Not available this season.

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	*Allium komarowii* Lipsky. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $17.75

Photograph © Paige Woodward	*Allium lacunosum* S. Watson. Flowers like a chalice with a starry lip, white to pale pink with a darker midrib, bloom in spring in open umbels on stems up to 35 cm (14") tall. Native to dry sites in California. Needs porous, well aerated soil. Has survived outdoors under shelter in our Zone 6. Our plants are from seeds collected in San Luis Obispo County. Bulbs are naturally small. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $6.00

Photographs © Pat Woodward	*Allium lenkoranicum* Miscz. ex. Grossh. This is one of our favorites. Its leaves are threadlike. The flowers, emerging in August from a long, scarf-like spathe, are an open umbel of outward-facing bells, subtly colored buff to lilac-rose, that are striped with dark green or maroon. Our pictures ~ please click on them ~ show the buds plumping up in mid-July, the flowers in August and the florets. Native to the Talysh Mountains near the Caspian Sea. Our plants descend from bulbs collected in 1987 at Lerik, Azerbaijan, at elev. 1860 m (6000') by Rukšáns, Seisums and Zobova. Height 30-50 cm (12-20"). Bulb (Fall shipping only). $12.00

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	*Allium litvinovii* Drob. ex Vved. Cool blue with deep purple veins, this uncommon onion from Central Asia is about 40 cm (16") tall. Our plants descend from material collected by Dr. Arnis Seisums of Selaspils Botanic Garden in Latvia in the locus classicus: Kirghizstan, Chatkal Range, near Lake Sari-Chilek. Zone 6, perhaps colder. Not available this season.

Photographs © Paige Woodward	*Allium macranthum* Baker. Big, graceful umbels of satiny, pink to violet florets rise above lax, linear leaves to bloom in July-August. The roots are thick and fleshy, not bulbous. This beauty is native to W China and the Himalaya. It does well in full sun to part shade and looks best in clumps of 3 or more. and do. We interplant this with ferns both to fill the space when it's below ground and to lend a little support in high wind. Height to 40 cm (16"). Zone 6, perhaps colder. Bare root. (Fall shipping only). $3.50

Photograph © Pat Woodward	*Allium mairei* H. Léveillé.韭 Dian jiu (Chinese). Dainty rose-pink flowers bloom for weeks in July-August amid grassy foliage. Sometimes called A. amabile or A. mairei var. amabile. Amabile is Latin for "pleasing," and that's what this little clump-former is, both in moist areas and in the rock garden, as long as it gets sun. Native to SW Sichuan, SE Tibet [Xizang] and Yunnan provinces in China. Introduced from NY Yunnan by George Forrest, who found it in high alpine meadows. Our stock is from garden seed. Height 10-15 cm (4-6"). Zone 6. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $3.00

Photograph © Paige Woodward	*Allium oreophilum* C.A. Meyer 'Torch' . Pink Lily Leek. 高地蒜 Gao di suan (Chinese). This dwarf onion ~ oreophilum means "mountain-loving" ~ has large, rose-pink florets with a darker line down the midrib. Native to Central Asia, it was selected for its straight stalk by Antoine Hoog from the Jánis Rukšáns selection A. oreophilum 'Agalik'. This straight-stemmed version charms all who see it. It is beautiful both in the rock garden and as a dinner-party centrepiece. Height about 15 cm (6"). Zone 5? Bulb (Fall shipping only). $11.00

Photograph © Paige Woodward Photograph by Brother Alfred Brousseau © St. Mary's College of California	*Allium platycaule* Sereno Watson. Named for its thick, flat, winged stem, this doughty pink onion with sickle-shaped leaves is native to dry, rocky, montane slopes in California, S Oregon and W Nevada. If you live outside its territory, lift this bulb while it is dormant, from July through September. Height about 15 cm (6"). Zone 7, perhaps colder. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $10.00

Photograph © Pat Woodward	*Allium robustum* Karelin & Kirilov. 健蒜 Jian suan (Chinese). Violet florets in dense, domelike umbels that are 5-7 cm (2-3") across rise on 40-60 cm (16-24") stems in May-June. As the flower heads mature, they produce a charming topknot, shown at left. Our plants, raised from seed, descend from material collected on Dzhungarian Alatau in E Kazakhstan. Vegetative increase is slow. This species is also native to Xinjiang province in China. Close to Allium decipiens, but much rarer in cultivation. Zone 5, perhaps colder. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $11.00

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	*Allium rosenbachianum* Regel. This is the true species, not the form of A. jesdianum sometimes offered under this name. Huge violet umbels, 15 cm (6") in diameter, bloom on 50-cm (20") stems in April-May. Native to Central Asia. Our plants descend from material collected in Tajikistan in the western Darvas Range. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $7.75

Photograph © Pat Woodward	*Allium sarawschanicum* Regel 'Bright Boy'. Huge, deep purple umbels, 8-10 cm (3-4") across, bloom in June on 50-70 cm (20-28") stems. The pleated leaves are up to 40 cm (16") long and 7 cm (3") wide. Native to Central Asia. Our plants descend from material collected in 1982 in the Pamir Alai of Tajikistan, near Chinoro. They grew in deep shade, in scattered groups, at 1600 m. Bulb (Fall shipping only). $9.00

Photograph © Pat Woodward	Allium sikkimense Baker. 高山韭 Gao shan jiu (Chinese). A choice small onion with gentian-blue flowers in July. Native to the Himalaya and to higher altitudes of western and central China. Our plants are from garden seed. Height 15 cm (6"). Very hardy. Needs sun and porous soil. (Chinese). A choice small onion with gentian-blue flowers in July. Native to the Himalaya and to higher altitudes of western and central China. Our plants are from garden seed. Height 15 cm (6"). Very hardy. Needs sun and porous soil. A choice small onion with gentian-blue flowers in July. Native to the Himalaya and to higher altitudes of western and central China. Our plants are from garden seed. Height 15 cm (6"). Very hardy. Needs sun and porous soil. Bulbs (Fall shipping only). $2.00 or 5/$8.00

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	*Allium tschimganicum* B. Fedtsch. Dense umbels of pinkish-violet florets bloom in June on 80-100-cm (30-36") stems. Our plants are grown from seed collected by Jim Archibald on Mt. Chimgan in Uzbekistan. Lift the bulbs in good time; they resent wet soil during dormancy. Not available this season.

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	*Allium wallichii* Kunth. 多星韭 Duo xing jiu (Chinese). Domes of purple-black stars bloom in July-October atop sturdy scapes that are triangular in cross section and slightly winged. The leaves have a prominent midvein and are shorter than the scape. Native to cool, montane scrub and meadows in W China including Tibet [Xizang], and the Himalaya. Our plants descend from wild seeds received in 2001 from the Sino-Himalayan Plant Association (McKelvie 55). Zone 6? Not available this season.

Photograph © Arnold Trachtenberg	Allium winklerianum Regel. 伊犁蒜 Yi li suan (Chinese). "Gorgeous," says a plantsman we know, a fellow steeped in understatement. We rest our case. Dense umbels of purple-violet florets, wafting a scent of lilac into the air, are ravishing in May-June on 40-50 cm (16-20") stems. Native to NW China, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Our plants descend from material collected by Jánis Rukšáns in the Fergana Range of Kyrgyzstan and received from Arnis Seisums in 1997 and 1998. "Gorgeous," says a plantsman we know, a fellow steeped in understatement. We rest our case. Dense umbels of purple-violet florets, wafting a scent of lilac into the air, are ravishing in May-June on 40-50 cm (16-20") stems. Native to NW China, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Our plants descend from material collected by Jánis Rukšáns in the Fergana Range of Kyrgyzstan and received from Arnis Seisums in 1997 and 1998. Not available this season.

Photograph © A.M.D. Hoog	*Allium woronowii* Miscz. ex Grossh. Large hemispheres of lilac-pink florets, powerfully scented of Dianthus (Carnation), bloom in May-June. In the wild, the stems are 25-35 cm (10-14") tall; in cultivation, however, they reach 45 cm (18"). Our plants descend from material collected in Armenia. Not available this season.

View ALLIUM SPECIES A - H

This page was updated March 19, 2008.