Allium schubertii (Ornamental Onion)

Award-winning Allium schubertii is grown for its unique and attractive display of loose, star-shaped, rose-purple flowers that bloom in giant, spherical umbels, up to 9-12 in. wide (22-30 cm), in late spring to early summer. They rise atop clumps of strap-shaped, blue-green, basal leaves which wither as the flowers begin to bloom. This spectacular bulbous perennial can be forced indoors in colder climates. Seed heads dry after bloom, and can be left for ornamental purposes or picked for flower arrangements. When the flower head ripens, the inflorescence detaches from the stem and rolls down the garden, thus dispersing the seeds.

• Growing up to 12 – 24 inches high (30 – 60 cm), this beauty naturalizes easily and slowly spreads over time! Both leaves and bulbs exude an onion fragrance when cut or bruised.
• Awarded the prestigious Award of Garden Merit by the Royal Horticultural Society
• Easily grown in rich, sandy to gritty, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Performs best in dry, sunny spots in the garden. Drought tolerant once established.
• Attracts butterflies, but deer ignore it!
• Stunning in beds and borders, city gardens, cottage gardens, or rock gardens. Excellent as cut flowers for both fresh and dried arrangements.
• Mixes beautifully with other late spring flowering bulbs and creates stunning combinations with pink or white delphiniums, peonies, or irises.
• To be planted in fall.
• Generally pest and disease free. Keep an eye out for onion white rot and downy mildew.
• Propagate by seed, sowing in containers in a cold frame when just ripe or in the spring. Alternatively, remove offsets in autumn.
• Allium schubertii is native from the eastern Mediterranean to central Asia.

Many hundreds of Allium species exist, but only a modest few have made a name for themselves as garden plants. The ornamental onions distinguish themselves by their great diversity in color, inflorescence and flowering height. Many species bloom in early summer – just after the spring-flowering period and just before the exuberant full bloom of summer. All species can be used in the border. Certain small species are just perfect for a rock garden, and several lend themselves to naturalizing.