Allium

I had a serious problem with squirrel and mouse predation on newly planted bulbs on my Allium earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational. Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate remarkable energy stored u…

Allium is clearly a great plant — I can see that from other people's results. Mine has been decent but not spectacular, and I think I know why. I underestimated the importance of lifting and drying tender bulbs before autumn frosts in the early stages and paid for it. squirrel and mouse predation o…

I nearly gave up on Allium after three months of mediocre results. Then I focused properly on leaving foliage to die back naturally after flowering and within a few weeks the difference was dramatic. It now lives in a cut flower garden for fresh indoor arrangements and has genuinely transformed tha…

I've been growing plants seriously for over fifteen years and Allium remains a reliable favourite. For anyone starting out: the most critical thing is leaving foliage to die back naturally after flowering. Everything else follows from that. squirrel and mouse predation on newly planted bulbs is the…

I'm a busy person and can't give every plant the attention the books recommend. Here's what I've learned about the minimum viable care for Allium. planting at three times the depth of the bulb is genuinely non-negotiable — skip this and the plant declines noticeably. Everything else, I've found, ha…

I brought Allium home six months ago with high hopes and almost no knowledge. The first challenge was understanding lifting and drying tender bulbs before autumn frosts — something I hadn't expected to matter so much. Once I got that right, the whole thing settled down. I grow it in a formal beddin…

I started with one Allium and now have four, all from propagation. The process is straightforward once you understand leaving foliage to die back naturally after flowering — something I picked up from trial and error rather than any guide. I display them in a naturalised lawn planting for a wild sp…

My first attempt at Allium failed — squirrel and mouse predation on newly planted bulbs got hold of it and I didn't know what I was looking at until it was too late. I left it alone for a year before trying again. The second attempt, with proper attention to planting at three times the depth of the…

I don't have a garden so a mixed border with later-emerging perennials to hide dying foliage is my only option for Allium. It absolutely works — with the right attention to lifting and drying tender bulbs before autumn frosts you can get excellent results in containers. some of the earliest colour …

I planted Allium at entirely the wrong point in the growing calendar and spent the first few months wondering what I'd done wrong. blindness with no flowers produced from weak or immature bulbs didn't help matters. Once I understood lifting and drying tender bulbs before autumn frosts things improve…