Summer Alliums

Some Summer Onions of 2007
This year was a particularly good year in the Allium garden, with lots of interesting
developments and surprises, along with the mass of reliable summer bloomers. It is
also a milestone year, marking another 5-7 years of evaluation of Allium hybrids, with
a number of new hybrids worthy of being named this year. I do not have a nursery nor
do I sell plants to the public, so please don't ask for them, but I fully intend on making
new Allium hybrid selections available through other nurseries. It may take a few years
before these plants become available, but part of the reason of showing these plants now
is to highlight the great potential of this fascinating genus of summer flowering plants.

[Note: this large series of 25 galleries is currently under construction. For those
galleries where there is only a thumbnail and no live link yet, they have been
marked as "gallery forthcoming". - Mark McD. 8-25-07]

Click on the thumbnail images below to see larger, more complete image galleries.

	Allium stellatum, the prairie onion, is one of the unsung beauties among American native onions. Growing in central USA, with Missouri as its center, it can be found from the southwest up into Canada, with widespread but sporadic distribution through many states & Canadian provinces.
	Allium stellatum hybrids - Over the years a number of surprising hybrids with A. stellatum have appeared. Not all are worthwhile, but a good number of them are an improvement, with higher bud count and extended bloom times.
	Allium cernuum - People add one form of "nodding onion" to their garden and think they have it. This species is amazingly variable, from pallid insignificant forms to those that are truly bright and ornamental. Take a look at some good ones.
	Allium cernuum variability - More than just showing a few color forms and shapes of nodding onion, there are forms, possibly hybrid induced, that are a bit more extreme in their development. Here are some examples.
	Allium cernuum hybrids - similar to the closely related A. stellatum, the nodding onion is also willing to hybridize with nearby congeners. Some ugly things can result from such hybrids, but sometimes the results are very good.
	Allium macranthum - a lovely species from China, Bhutan, and Sikkim. Unfortunately it is almost always misidentified in cultivation, confused with the North American nodding onion, Allium cernuum.
	Allium hookeri var. muliense - For a short while available from Collector's Nursery (which is now closed). A great addition to the allium garden, for its bright yellow flowers in July and into August, held on 24-30" stems. Found in moist mountain meadows, China.
	Allium flavum ssp. tauricum - What would a summary gallery of onions be without my favorite, the rainbow color forms of this Turkish form of A. flavum. Shown is a particularly bright pink-red color that first showed up in 2006, and photographed in 2007.
	Allium sieheanum - Different from what I once grew under this name from a collection in Turkey, this plant also comes from Turkey. Tiny little bell-shaped flowers, but the long pedicels of the same color make an impression. A good rock garden sort.
	Allium plummerae - a species from high elevation wet meadows in Arizona and New Mexico. This is an excellent species for the sunny garden in good soil, with refreshing foliage and clean flat- topped clusters of white flowers.
	Triteleia hyacinthina - not an onion but closely allied, and for a while included in the Alliaceae, but now in the Themidaceae. This species has the same effect as a good allium, and combines nicely in the allium garden. [gallery forthcoming]
	Allium beesianum, mairei, and species aff. cyaneum - 3 Chinese alliums for the onion connoisseur, for careful culture in a choice spot. Allium are beautiful additions to the August-September onion garden.
	Allium 'Sugar Melt' - This is one of the first Allium hybrids I named, and remains one of my absolute favorites. Masses of clear pink hemispherical domes in August drives bees and butterflies into a nectar-feeding frenzy.
	Allium prattii - Originally from Chen Yi as a different species, this is my identification of what allium really is. True red flowers in open umbels in early July. For a shady, moist (yet well drained) spot. Very attractive arching, strap-shaped foliage.
	Allium listera - a wonderful small onion species from China, a slow grower for a shady, not-to-dry spot in the garden. This is among a handful of whimsical Chinese allium that have broad hosta-like foliage, fooling all who see the plant (when not in bloom) into thinking it is indeed a hosta.
	Allium ovalifolium var. ovalifolium - Originally from Chen Yi as a different species, this is my identification of what this pretty woodland Allium is. Blooms are seen in mid July. The foliage you're seeing in this thumbnail image, is that of another Chinese species, Allium prattii (see gallery above).
	Allium victorialis 'Kemerovo' - This is a selected cultivar of the circumpolar species, named for the Kemerovo region of Siberia. It blooms in June, with the whitish spheres accented with red pedicels at the center of each flower head.
	New Allium hybrids 1 - I've been watching this one for a few years, finally naming it 'Venus'. This August blooming beauty has excellent form, particularly striking in the bud stage lasting many weeks before eventually opening the florets in August.
	New Allium hybrids 2 - this 2007 selection named 'Full Orbit' has exceptionally good flower form, on a 12" tall stem (will probably get taller when the plant matures). Other fine forms go unnamed, but add to the desirable gene pool for open pollination.
	New Allium hybrids 3 - with so many rhizomatous Allium hybrids characterized by pom-pom heads of bloom, one looks for unique or distinctive qualities. One such hybrid that I named in 2007 after several years of observation, is 'Asteroids'. August blooms, 20" tall.
	New Allium hybrids 4 - one of the more distinctive rhizomatous Allium hybrids is named 'Meteor Shower' which has equally spaced florets of an intense rose-pink, with a noticeable white tip to each bud. Compact at just 14-16" tall, and flowering with abandon in August.
	New Allium hybrid trends 1 - the first in a series of several major new trends in hybrids, is that of "tallness". Suddenly we have alliums with stems 36" tall, bold vertical accents that compete with summer perennials for attention.
	New Allium hybrid trends 2 - this represents a surprising new trend in rhizomatous allium hybrids having relatively enormous open heads of bloom to 4" across, yet on shorts stems.
	Allium caeruleum DBG - [gallery forthcoming]
	Allium suaveolens - Always usurped by imposters in cultivation, this modest late-blooming species is a nice addition to the garden. Slow growing and shy of increase, this sweetly scented plant should be sought out and grown more often. My plants seed-grown from a native locale in East Germany.
	Allium garden views - a series of garden views and alliaceous vignettes, most taken in July and August 2007.