Wild garlic is the first sign of spring. Crowding past brown grass, pushing aside dead leaves, braving dismal sog and dirty snow, its slender, tender, blue-green blades stand here ten inches high before February is out. It's up before the crocuses, before snowdrops even, off to a running start in maple-sugar time.
--Sara Stein, My Weeds, 1988
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Allium sphaerocephalon (Drumstick)
Bulbous perennial with mid-green leaves, reddish purple 1-2" blooms in mid spring to midsummer. Plant 6" deep and 6" apart. The bloom was an off oval/egg shape. Bloomed in June.
Jackson & Perkins, 60 bulbs.
CULTIVATION: Grow in fertile, well drained soil in full sun. Plant bulbs 2 - 4 inches deep in autumn; plant clump forming species with rhizomes at, or just below the surface in spring. Alliums from areas with hot, dry summers may be best grown in sandy, soil based potting mix in an alpine house; keep dry when dormat.
PROPAGATION: Sow seed in containers in cold frame. Some may take 2 years to germinate. Remove offsets of bulbous species in autumn. Divide clump forming, rhizomatous species in spring.
PESTS AND DISEASES: Bulb rots caused by soil-borne fungi are common under damp conditions, especially immediately following planting. White rot, mildew, rust, smut, and various fungal leaf spots can occur. Susceptible to onion fly and thrips.
Allium sphaerocephalon
| Zone: 5 - 8 Heat: 12 - 1 |
Sun or shade |
| Height: 24 - 36 inches |
Width: 6 inches |
| Bloom Time: Jun-Aug |
Bloom Color: Reddish-purple |
| Location: Front and back |
Planted: 23 Oct 2004 |
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