Types and varieties of decorative onions Allium, planting and care in open ground

The decorative Allium onion will become the center of any flower bed or garden composition. The round, multi-colored inflorescences of the plant in combination with other flowers allow you to create unique design solutions for gardens and personal plots. Allium is a completely unpretentious crop, so planting and further caring for it in the open ground is accessible even to novice flower growers and gardeners.

Description and features

The Allium plant belongs to the amaryllis family, and the closest relatives of this decorative flower are garlic and ordinary onions. From its unusual pedigree, Allium inherited the pungent smell of onions and the bitter taste of garlic. Since the plant is unpretentious, it is found naturally in different climatic zones.

Main characteristics:

1. The herbaceous stem is thick. Some varieties grow up to 1.5-2 meters.
2. The leaves are elongated, feather-shaped. As soon as the flowering phase ends, they wither.
3. Inflorescences with small flowers are spherical in shape. In some varieties of decorative onions, the caps of inflorescences reach sizes up to 30-35 cm in diameter.
4. Flowering is long lasting. The active flowering phase begins at the beginning of summer and ends at the end of August.
5. There are late varieties of the crop that do not lose their decorative properties even in the fall.

Florists and landscape designers often use different varieties of decorative onions to decorate unusual garden beds and compositions.

Kinds

The perennial decorative onion Allium is divided into types and varieties, which differ in size, shades of inflorescences and differences in flowering time.

Roundhead

This type of crop is characterized by its small size and late flowering period. Oval-shaped inflorescences with a diameter of no more than 3 cm.The flowers are small, burgundy or pink, bloom in early August.

Yellow

The maximum height of yellow decorative onions is 40 cm, the inflorescences are loose, up to 10 cm in diameter, with yellow bell-shaped flowers.

Roseum

The type of decorative crop Roseum differs from its counterparts in its unusual pink flowers, similar to roses. Plant height is from 60 to 80 cm. The active flowering phase begins in June and continues until the end of summer.

Cernuum

This type of culture is often used for culinary purposes. The plant is up to 50 cm in height, the inflorescences are loose, inclined downwards, with white or pinkish flowers.

The flowering phase begins in July. The young leaves of the plant are used for food.

Sicilium

A tall species of Allium, it will grow up to 130 cm. The inflorescences are large, with large bell-shaped flowers in pink and cream shades.

Giant

Allium giganteum blooms in late spring. The height of the plant reaches 1.5-1.7 m. The inflorescences are large and dense, purple and lilac shades, up to 15 cm in diameter. The flowers are small, star-shaped.

Mountain-loving

A low-growing type of crop will grow to a maximum height of 20 cm. The inflorescences are loose, with bell-shaped flowers in purple and pink shades. It enters the active flowering phase at the end of May. The flowering period is short, only 20-24 days.

Bowed

The type of decorative onion is also suitable for food. The plant came to our continent from North America. It is distinguished by its thin, long leaves. The inflorescences are loose, inclined to the ground, flowers of pink and beige shades. Blooms in July.

Bulgarian

Allium of this species blooms in early summer. The height of the plant is up to 1 m, the inflorescences are large, with bright purple flowers.

Popular varieties

Decorative onions differ not only in types, but also in varieties, which have different decorative properties.

Sicilian

A tall variety with large bell-shaped flowers. The plant is attractive to bees, which is why it is called honey garlic.

Blue, white

Tall peduncles with small inflorescences of blue or white color, with small bell-shaped flowers.

Christopher

A tall variety of decorative onion native to Persia. Large, spherical inflorescences up to 25 cm in diameter, bloom with small star-shaped flowers. After the flowering period, the inflorescences do not fall off, but dry on the peduncle, which allows them to be used for decoration at any time of the year.

Moli

Allium variety Moli is a frequent inhabitant of gardens and personal plots. The plant grows small, up to 25 cm, the inflorescences are loose, with large yellow star-shaped flowers that bloom at the end of May.

Gladiator

The Gladiator variety not only has decorative properties, but is also used as food. The height of the plant is from 80 to 100 cm, the purple inflorescences are dense - up to 20 cm in diameter. Allium Gladiator is a fastidious plant to care for and therefore requires additional attention.

Purple Sensation

A frost-resistant type of decorative onion with large, bright inflorescences. The height of the plant is up to 1.5 m, the inflorescences are 12-14 cm in diameter, with small star-shaped flowers in bright purple shades.

Ivory Queen

With a small height of 30-35 cm, this variety of ornamental crop has large inflorescences, up to 12 cm. Blooms in mid-summer with white and beige flowers. The leaves are wide, elongated, and have an unusual green-blue hue.

Mount Everest

A tall variety of Allium, grows up to 120 cm.Globular inflorescences up to 25 cm in diameter, with white star-shaped flowers.

Eros

Large spherical inflorescences with beautiful bell-shaped flowers in lilac, purple and pink shades. Plant height is up to 35 cm, inflorescence diameter is 8-10 cm, the active flowering phase begins in June.

Hair

The most unusual variety of decorative onion with purple inflorescences reminiscent of a disheveled hairstyle. Active flowering occurs at the end of spring and lasts about a month.

Goliath

Allium variety Goliath grows up to 100 cm. The inflorescences are large, dense, up to 25 cm in diameter, the flowers are small, star-shaped in violet and lilac shades.

Sativum

In addition to decorative properties, the Sativum variety also has a culinary purpose, because the plant is similar in taste and structure to ordinary garlic. Small inflorescences bloom with small white flowers, which become gray as they bloom.

Growing

Decorative onion is a plant that does not require special care or cultivation skills. Therefore, even a novice florist or gardener can cope with ornamental crops.

Allium is frost-resistant and is distinguished by its vitality, but there are some rules without which the flower will grow frail and ugly.

Selection and preparation of a site

A well-lit place is chosen for planting flowers. The plant loves sunlight, the more of it, the better it develops.

How to choose a site

Allium does not tolerate excess moisture, so lowlands are not suitable for planting it. Shady corners of the garden are also not suitable for its growth.

Soil requirements

Although the ornamental crop does not require care, it loves loose and fertile soils. Soil with a high acid content is mixed with lime before planting flowers.

Best neighbors

When Allium fades, its decorative properties are lost. Therefore, the best neighbors for this plant will be crops with beautiful decorative foliage that covers the yellowing and drying leaves of flowers.

Peonies, roses or irises will also be good neighbors for Allium.

How to plant from seeds

After Allium blooms, seeds are formed, which are collected and planted in open ground. The timing of planting flowers in this way can be early spring or autumn. Most varieties of the crop germinate in the spring. Young shoots must be stopped.

Important! Some crop varieties produce their first shoots after a few years.

Vegetative propagation

There are several ways to vegetatively propagate Allium.

Daughter bulbs

Babies are formed on the bulbs of adult plants. They are carefully separated from the mother plant and planted. Up to 3 small bulbs are formed on the bulb of an adult flower.

Bulbs

Gardeners and flower growers with extensive experience propagate the plant by bulbs. After the crop has finished flowering, its head is carefully trimmed and treated with a special solution that stimulates growth. Next, the heads are planted in the ground. This method allows you to get healthy flowers that retain all their decorative qualities.

Planting bulbs

The autumn season is most suitable for planting bulbs in open ground. The bulbs are carefully examined, planting material with traces of mold or rot is disinfected in a manganese solution. If most of the bulb is damaged, it is thrown away.

Holes for planting are dug in advance. Each hole does not exceed 10 cm in depth. Onions are placed in the holes, sprinkled with earth and watered thoroughly.

The distance between flowers depends on their size. The taller and larger the plant, the greater the gap left between plantings.

Care

Caring for the crop depends on the climatic conditions of the region where it grows.

Watering

Decorative onions do not tolerate waterlogging of the soil. If the plant is constantly flooded, this will lead to its death.

In drought and heat, the soil should not dry out, otherwise the crop will stop growing and lose its decorative properties. Important! For Allium to grow and develop, it is necessary to find the correct balance of soil moisture.

Top dressing

At the beginning of spring, decorative onions are fed with fertilizers containing nitrogen and potassium. Such procedures are carried out to give a more decorative appearance to the plant.

Diseases and pests

In the process of growing ornamental crops, gardeners are faced with various pests and diseases that slow down the development of plants or lead to their death.

Cervical rot

Allium bulbs can be affected by neck rot if storage rules are violated. For prevention, the seed is dug up and heated at a temperature of 48 degrees for 10 to 12 hours.

Downy mildew

Downy mildew poses a danger to the plant. To prevent the development of the disease, the bulbs are heated at a temperature of 40 degrees before planting.

Tobacco thrips

The pest sucks out all the juices from the plant, which leads, if not to the death of the flower, then to severe weakening and loss of decorative qualities. To remove them, insecticides are used.

Onion fly

You can avoid infecting flowers with onion fly by planting bulbs early in open ground.But if infection cannot be avoided, the plant is treated with special preparations or saline solution.

Loosening and weeding

For proper growth and development, flower beds with Allium are weeded and loosened. Before the winter cold and in the spring they are mulched.

Important! Yellowed and withered leaves help the bulb accumulate the nutrients necessary for wintering and growth next year. Therefore, try to avoid tearing off dried leaves from Allium.

Collection and storage of bulbs

In regions with harsh, cold winters, the bulbs of decorative onions need to be dug up and sent to a warm place for the winter. To do this, pour a peat mixture or moistened sand into the container. The bulbs are placed in it and sent for wintering at temperatures from +15 to +18 degrees.

How to choose a variety

When choosing a variety of decorative onion, it is necessary to take into account its decorative properties and flowering time. Professional flower growers select plant varieties in such a way that beautiful flowers decorate garden plots from early spring to late autumn.

Application in landscape design

The unusual appearance and variety of shades of Allium determine its decorative purpose in landscape design.

Flowerbeds

The culture is excellent for planting in flower beds and flower beds. To do this, select the order of flowering of different varieties of Allium and the height of the plants.

In the garden

On large plots and gardens, decorative onions are used to design alpine landscapes of rocky gardens

Reviews

Liliya Sergeevna, Yegoryevsk

Nobody remembers how and when allium was planted on the site. It just grows and blooms in our flower bed. Sometimes we water it.

We don’t dig it up or even cover it for the winter. A beautiful and unpretentious flower.I recommend it to all gardeners and summer residents.

Irina, Leningrad region

Finally this year the blue allium bloomed, it is very beautiful. At first they tried to plant seeds, but it didn’t work. We bought the bulbs and now enjoy the beautiful views of the flower.

Evgeniy, Moscow region

This year the gladiator bloomed for the first time. There are simply a lot of impressions. All the neighbors ran to me and asked where I got such a handsome guy. Large flowers and bold, wide foliage.