Every year I like to see what new colors and
pastel shades emerge from seedlings of Allium flavum ssp. tauricum,
the Turkish form of the familiar European Allium flavum. Of course,
the color forms in my garden were generated
over a period of a couple decades, with some possible influence by
hybridization with allied species, such as
Allium kurtzianum (A. olympicum of Hort.) and possibly even A. carinatum
ssp. pulchellum and A. paniculatum.
In the image below, at the lower left, is a particularly bright pink-red
seedling that showed up in 2006. All of
the photographs below were taken at the end of the first week of July,
2007.
I grow Allium flavum ssp. tauricum in raised sand beds, with a bit of
humus mixed in. They must not be mulched
with any sort of organic mulch, which promotes rot, instead the beds can
be left exposed, or mulch with gravel. In
the overall view below, is one of several raised sand beds full of
colorful "tauricums". Most grow only 8-9" tall, so
they are excellent subjects for the sunny rock garden. Going dormant
after flowering for about 6 weeks, the
foliage re-emerges in late August and September, remaining evergreen
through the winter.
I'm partial to some of the pastel colored
sorts, like this grouping of tan-colored plants shown below.
Not
showy from a distance, but up close it is wonderful to see flowers with
such unusual colors. The silvery
stems compliment the pastel flowers.
There are so many colors and hues to select from. Here are some
flowering in a couple shades of orange, a
most welcome color that is rare within the genus. The plants in the
lower right represent a particularly
dwarf, gregarious, clumping type that would be worthy of naming and
introduction.
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