Plant, cut and care for ornamental onions

The bulbous plant can be beautifully combined in the garden and adorns the beds even after the flowering period. Planting and caring for ornamental onions is easy, making it ideal for low-maintenance gardens.

ornamental onion (Allium) stands out clearly and often magnificently from its surroundings with its striking umbels of flowers. How you die Allium-The best way to plant onions, which location is best and what successful care looks like, we explain here.

plant ornamental onions

As beautiful as the bulbous plant is, planting the ornamental onion plant is as easy. We'll show you how to do it easily.

When is Allium planting time?

The most commonly used, frost hardy Allium-Onions are planted from September to November. They survive the winter with the storage-capable bulb and sprout again through newly emerging daughter bulbs.

The right location for ornamental onions

Most ornamental onion species love a sunny and accordingly warm location, although partial shade is tolerated by certain species. However, the soil conditions are more important than the conditions above ground. Again, it depends very much on the type used. The most common Alliumspecies require dry to fresh soil - others require very dry soil with a high proportion of coarse soil particles such as sand and gravel. To get an overview, we have given you the individual floor requirements of some popular ones Ornamental onion varieties and species summarized. In addition, the soil should only contain moderate amounts of nitrogen, but should contain more potassium and be calcareous depending on the species. Ornamental onion species are also wonderful for the rock garden with its permeable, sandy to stony soil. Soil that is too humus-rich, clayey and waterlogged promotes onion rot, which causes the plant to die.

Tip: Planted in small groups, work Allium-Plants particularly impressive. Therefore, plan enough space for planting.

Cultivated in pots or tubs Allium-Species should be placed in a sheltered place in winter, as frost penetrates there more quickly. Ideally, use open-pored pots to prevent waterlogging. The moisture can evaporate better through the walls.

Procedure for planting

Once you have found a suitable species for your garden location with all the diversity of species, it is time to prepare the soil. This is done according to the needs of the respective species. In most cases this will mean soil that is too humus rich or clayey with lots of sand or gravel be emaciated, while particularly sandy soils may even be mixed with some potting soil become. Our Plantura organic compost for example, is wonderfully suited for mixing and enriching sandy subsoil and is also completely peat-free.

Tip: When the ground crunches between your fingers, it is for many Allium-Species just right.

It is essential to avoid waterlogging by loosening the soil deeply and installing a drainage layer of gravel or expanded clay over the entire planting area. Then set the Allium- Plant the bulbs with the tip upwards 5 to 10 cm deep in the soil. The depth depends on the bulb size, but should be about three times as deep as its height.

Tip: Mark the planting site so that you don't accidentally dig it up later.

A less common method is sowing the Allium-seeds. These are less expensive than onions and save you from digging up the mother and daughter bulbs. In our review article about ornamental onion we explain, among other things, how to make your own Allium-Successfully harvest seeds.

Sow Allium outdoors in just a few steps:

• Sow the seeds in late summer.
• Prepare the soil according to the needs of the species.
• Press the seeds 1 cm deep into the soil.
• Keep a seed spacing of approx. 10cm in.
• Make sure to keep the substrate moist.

A notice: Seed germination varies from species to species and can take anywhere from 12 weeks to 1 year.

Combine ornamental onions

The early-flowering ornamental onion can be wonderfully combined with plants that, in summer, wilt the leaves of the alliums cover and love a hot, sunny spot. We have put together a few suitable neighbors for you:

• catnip (Nepeta)
• splendor candle (Gaura lindheimeri)
• lady's mantle (Alchemilla spec.)
• lavender (lavender spec.)
• cranesbill (geranium spec.)
• Many drought loving ornamental grasses

Allium care

If the soil conditions are right, maintenance is not a major challenge. Only water your bulbous plants if the drought persists. Excessive watering can lead to onion rot and death.

The bulbs not only absorb important nutrients during the flowering period, but also store them for the new plant in late summer. If you want to support the plant, a dose of fertilizer in late summer is sufficient. This is where the need is greatest. When selecting the fertilizer, an organic fertilizer that is less nitrogenous should be used. Our Plantura organic flower fertilizer supplies the plant with the most important nutrients over a long period of time and offers a potassium-rich composition. The potassium increases the resistance and frost hardiness of the onion and thus of the plant.

Over time, depending on the species, large subterranean stocks develop, for example through daughter onions. Due to the high pressure of competition, the new plants have little chance of flowering. This applies above all to species that like to grow solitarily. The stocks should be loosened up occasionally. To do this, first dig up the stock. Divide the mother onion from the daughter onion that has formed on the side and reinsert the onions with ample spacing, depending on the type.

Cut ornamental onions

Cut your ornamental onions in autumn at the earliest, as soon as the leaves have dried up and died. Until then, nutrients from the leaves and the sprout are transferred to the bulb and stored there for the winter and new growth in spring.

Ornamental onion has faded: what to do?

The Allium-Inflorescences are usually cut after flowering to prevent seed ripening and self-seeding. The ripening of the seeds costs energy and nutrients and can inhibit the onion bush from returning. If you welcome self-sowing, leave the ornamental onion seed stand. These also look very pretty when dried, whether in the garden or harvested in a dried bouquet.

Yellow leaves on ornamental onions: what to do?

Yellow leaves on ornamental onions are not an indication of a deficiency, but completely normal. After flowering, the nutrients are transferred to the leaves Allium-bulbs shifted, which is why they yellow and later die. With the help of these nutrients, the onion survives the winter and can sprout again in the spring. So do not cut off any living leaves - the ornamental onion will thank you the following year.

A worrying image creates the miner fly (Agromyzidae), which frequently at Allium-Growth occurs. The larvae eat through the leaves and thus cause visible mine tunnels. The leaves then dry out and die prematurely. If possible, the pest should be controlled biologically. Ichneumon wasps can be used as natural opponents or neem preparations. Such is ours Plantura Pest Free Neem. It efficiently rids the plant of the pests through its partial systemic effect, but is gentle on the environment and other insects. The active ingredient is obtained from the seeds of the neem tree.

If the plant is already damaged and there is also waterlogging, fungal pathogens have an easy time of it. So occurs frequently Phytophthora porri, also called paper spot disease Allium on. This fungal pathogen is easy to recognize by the initially watery, later paper-like spots on the leaves. Planting material should be removed as soon as possible to prevent spread. In the case of severe infestation, a soil replacement or the use of a fungicide could even be necessary.

The most well-known flower bulb is that of the tulip (Tulipa). Read everything here Flowering and care of the tulip and transform your garden into a spring magic.