By Annkmccall
United Kingdom 
I have bought 5 large aliums bulbs and wish to plant them in pots can you tell me what size pots and any particular compost you would advise. How many to a pot and should I keep them indoors until spring. I live in north Derbyshire
On plant
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR HELPFUL ADVICE
10 Sep, 2011
Answers
Since he said large, I'm guessing that they are the larger species, so I would have a 10 inch pot for each one, or three in a 16 inch pot.
11 Sep, 2011
Large Alliums grow over 1 metre tall. They will fall over and die quickly in pots. They are much better in the ground - I tried pots this year for them and they lasted a fraction of the time and grow much weaker than ground planted Alliums.
11 Sep, 2011
Agreed! Practically all large bulbs do much better, especially in the long term, in the ground. If that isn't possible,though, the size pots that I gave him were the minimum. True, I should have said, "at least".
11 Sep, 2011
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR VERY HELPFUL ADVICE
12 Sep, 2011
You've not said which variety of Allium, so hard to say which size pot and how many to a pot. Most, but not all, are hardy, and can be left outside all winter - so long as the compost in the pot doesn't freeze solid for over a week in a really bad winter.
10 Sep, 2011