Which Allium is suitable for your garden?
In my opinion, allium flowers are a must-have in any garden. They're the last spring bulbs to bloom. Alliums, also known as ornamental onions, bloom in May and June. This is often a transitional period in the garden: a period when most spring bloomers have finished blooming and summer bloomers like dahlias aren't yet showing their colors. A burst of color from tiny, star-shaped flowers is certainly welcome during this time! Plus, no other flower attracts so many bumblebees and honeybees to your garden. A true win-win situation.
With over 1,000 different allium varieties, it's not easy to choose which one is perfect for your garden. My webshop offers a total of 16 different allium varieties. In this article, I'll provide more information about these different varieties. I hope this will give you a better understanding of the differences and help you decide which variety is right for your garden.
Each allium flower is made up of several smaller flowers. Larger allium species can contain up to two thousand individual flowers. Each flower blooms in succession, and new flower buds push past the older ones. This ensures a long flowering period and prevents the flower from wilting quickly. In full sun, they bloom for about 5 to 6 weeks, and in partial shade, they bloom even longer. The bulb remains in the soil after flowering and blooms again every spring. A nice bonus is that allium bulbs reproduce after flowering. So, after planting, you can look forward to even more flowers every spring!
♡ Large-flowered allium varieties:
Allium Globemaster is the largest allium species. The flowers have a diameter of 24 cm and a height of 90 cm. For comparison, a soccer ball has a diameter of 23 cm. The flowers are truly large and held high on a very thick double stem. So you don't have to worry about them buckling! The Globemaster is the first large-flowered allium to bloom in spring.
The Allium Ambassador has flowers with a diameter of 20 cm and grows to a height of 120 cm. The flowers are very compact and have an intense purple color. This variety blooms after the Globemaster, starting in mid-May.
Allium Giganteum, with its beautiful, compact flowers, looks very similar to the Ambassador, but this variety has a lovely purple-pink color. This is the last allium to bloom. The flowers have a diameter of 20 cm and can reach a height of 150 cm. A real eye-catcher!
♡ Medium-sized allium varieties:
Allium Christophii is one of my favorite allium varieties. Its large flowers reach 25 cm in diameter and 50 cm in height. The flowers aren't as compact as the large-flowered varieties mentioned above, so you can easily see through them. As a bonus, this variety dries beautifully after flowering.
Allium Schubertii is a unique specimen because it's not a compact, round flower like we're used to with alliums. The large flowers can reach a diameter of 30 cm and a height of 50 cm. The flower is composed of multiple florets with long and short stems. I always find it difficult to describe Schubertii in words, but it's definitely a variety worth trying. This flower also dries beautifully after flowering.
Allium Gladiator is a medium-sized allium species. The flowers are 15 cm across and 120 cm tall. It is one of the first allium species to bloom in spring.
Allium Mount Everest is also a medium-sized allium. It's essentially the same as the allium Gladiator, but in a bright white color.
♡ Small allium varieties:
In addition to the aforementioned allium varieties, I offer several more. These fall into the "small allium" category. The flowers are comparable to the size of a tennis ball and are available in various heights and colors.
If, after reading this article, you still can't choose from the beautiful, wide selection of alliums, or if you have any questions, please send me a message. I'm happy to help!
