The American prairie onion, Allium stellatum,
is highly variable, but always a lovely
summer blooming plant. Most welcome, are forms of the species that bloom late
summer and well into the fall.
In the photo below, the one-sided clusters of pale pink in the center
represent a good
form of the species with a high bud count, blooming the first week of
August. By the
end of August and into September, Allium stellatum is still going strong,
a mainstay
for the late summer garden. Notice in this image, a couple
of flower heads showing
strong red coloration to the pedicels,
particularly at the center, making the bloom
head rather striking. In the view below,
this species is flowering along with Allium
carinatum ssp. pulchellum (the upright pinkish
flower heads
on the left), some
lingering Allium cernuum, and some early A. senescens
forms.
Allium stellatum - this is an extremely variable species covering
several months of flowering.
In the image below, we see a pretty mid-pink form of A. stellatum
flowering near the end of
August, with many buds left to bring the show into September. In the
background is the
much lower growing Japanese Allium togasii, another late summer
bloomer. Allium stellatum
stem height varies considerable among forms, but the ones shown here grow
18" or more.
Allium stellatum - below is another view of the same late-flowering
form, taken
about 1 week earlier and closer up. This is without a doubt, an
invaluable Allium
species for the late summer garden. Very thin in growth, it hardly
takes up any
space, and can be interplanted with other species for best effect.
Easily raised
from seed and grown in very sandy soil in full sun.
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