Common name: Giant Onion, Giant Allium, Ornamental Onion
Family of plants: Alliaceae
Native to: Iran, Afghanistan, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan
Light requirements: full sun
Skill level: Beginner
Cut Flower: YES
Dried Flower: YES (seedpods)
Fragrant: YES, light onion or garlic scent
HARDINESS: perennial (bulbs)
Height: up to 180 cm (up to 6 ft.)
Time to plant seeds: early springor late autumn
Propagation: seed, bulb
Flowering period: late spring to early summer
The most striking and the tallest of the ornamental onions, Allium Giganteum is an impressive cut flower with an impressive 10.000 year old past. It is originally from Iran but has become popular all over the world, it its cultivation dating back to 8000 B.C.
with a round ball shape made out of countless star-shaped little blooms on top of a strong, straight stem with only a few grayish-green leafs at its base. Its leaves will almost immediately die back once the plants begin flowering, so it is useful to plant leafy, low growing perennials in their vicinity in order to cover the Allium’s base and preserve the general lush look of the garden.
The purple version (Allium Globemaster and Gladiator) of the flower is most widely known, but you can also find it in an ethereal white (Allium Mont Blanc). Most plants will stand upright without any support, despite their height, but if they are exposed to strong winds, some might need staking. In the fall mature bulbs can be dug up and divided, so that come spring you can enjoy a larger number of blooms.
The Giant Allium is a wonderful addition to any formal or informal garden, having the desired visual impact in any setting, mixing beautifully with other spring stars, such as Peonies, Love in a Mist, Delphiniums or Generaniums, at the same time remaining the showiest of the all. Additionally, the Giant Allium attracts bees and butterflies, helping your garden become more vivacious. As it blooms in late spring to early summer, it bridges the gap between the time when the last of the Tulips fade away and Peonies start to be in full bloom.
The Ornamental Onion has received the extraordinary honor of being granted the Royal Horticultural Society‘s Award of Garden Merit.
If you enjoy repurposing you dried flowers, you can learn more from Sarah Raven on YouTube about how to turn them into Christmas ornaments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov8JbF8L8qk . I might try it this year, they do look spectacular.