Allium Lovers

Mainly I would suggest avoiding the yellow flowered ones, they tend to be the most invasive. Otherwise any of the ones on sale now in almost all outlets are good. I like A. karataviense and A.k Ivory Queen in the lower growing ball shaped flowers and A. schubertii is hard to beat. Go for it.

Hi Muddiewellis I planted some this year for the first time and the advice on here was plant on some grit as they like to be siiting on the grit for free drainage.
Go for it and we can compare next year? Lots of choice (the ones I planted are in my plant list) this link might help too. www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantprofile_allium.shtml

I have A. 'Purple Sensation' and it's very reliable - not too expensive, either! Grows to about 15 - 18 " and the 'ball' of flowers is the size of a tennis ball. I also tried some pink ones last year - small flowered - but beautiful!

I made a mistake when I planted A. christophii, as thay came up shorter than I thought - only about a foot tall. Great big heads, though!

I was going to say Allium aflatuense, but I think that's the same as "Purple Sensation", is it Spritz? Seem to remember seeing them called that somewhere recently.

Yes, You're right!
Aka A. hollandicum. ;-))

One thing I would say, Muddywellie, don't buy the alliums that are fairly short with white flowers, don't know what they're called, but they'll take over the garden in a year or two.

Thanks for all the suggestions - and the usual very helpful advice. The purple sensation one did look tempting and you can get about 25 for £7 - which seems reasonable doesn't it? Does everyone plant on grit then? I think my soil in general is quite free draining, so I hope they would be ok without grit. Also, am I still ok to be planting them from now for the next couple of weeks. I want to order the bulbs from a website and they may not arrive immediately.

I have never bothered putting grit under them as my soil is free draining. You can plant from now until the end of November as long as the soil is not frozen or waterlogged.

Thanks OB - as the purple sensation is quite tall - I take it it is ok at the back of the bed??

They get about two to 3 feet tall, so depends how big the stuff in front is, really. I've got them behind lavender and spiraea goldmound, and that's fine.

They would be behind a convolvulus cneorum, sweet williams and in between some roses bushes - does that sound ok? I heard you had to hide the foliage, as it goes yellow, so thats the only place I can think of where they could be blended in with everything else...

Foliage only goes yellow once they die back a bit, just like other bulbs, really. But the situation you describe sounds perfect.

Allium foliage often starts to die back just as the flowers open so a position where their feet are hidden would be ideal

It seems I might have a very yellowy garden next year?

I've read what Andrewr has said before. I think the plant puts all of its energy into the flowers, so the foliage suffers a little. I don't think it can be too bad though, and presumably yours are tucked in amongst other things?

Another one to avoid is A. ostrowskianum aka oreophyllym aka farreri. This is a seed thug of the worst kind, as in A. flavum (one of the yellow ones!).

Is this a yellow one then? I have a horrible feeling that my mum might have planted these in, and I didn't realise they were alliums, as the packet just said Ostrowskianum. I don't even have the packet to refer to anymore - but I do know that the flowers were pink. Help!

Chop the flower heads off as they finish, Mw. Just don't let any of the thugs seed themselves! Then you'll be OK.

Yes it is a pink/purple one and whilst dead heading will help, they also spread by bulb divison. So one bulb soon becomes 5 and so on ad nauseum. And you only need to miss one seed head and wham!.
Mind ALL Alliums will spread far and wide from seed given the chance (except perhaps the difficult to grow Californian ones like bolandieri and thre legendary zebdanense)
Anyone got the seeds of Allium tashiroi they do not want?

Thanks OB. When you say spread, do you mean good ground cover with flowers - or do you just get tons of leaves that don't achieve very much? I don't mind spread too much as long as it fills in the gaps and I can pull out the ones I don't like. I don't really get anything seeding in my garden - maybe I don't have the right type of soil.

I mean thousands of tiny bulbs looking like grass leaves which eventaully flower. However, in the meantime they have choked everything else in the bed and they are swine to get out of the middle of something nice.
You are probably tidier than I am so that is more likely the reason why you do not get self seeding. Our gravel paths are a great source of seedlings of all sorts of things. How many 1,000 Galtonia do you want? Ditto Dianthus. Note to me 'Dead head more!'

I don't think I'm tidier than you - I've seen your garden - it looked pretty immaculate! Well, not much I can do now, as I can't tell where she put them! I will wait and see how they come up, and then get pulling if necessary. Thanks OB.