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Can an allium be forced?
There are numerous lovely flower bulbs with unique charms and qualities, including tulips, narcissus, hyacinths, and snowdrops. We want to introduce you to a selection of them in this blog series so you may choose the best ones for your garden and create the spring show of your dreams!
While its relatives the onion and garlic enhance the flavor of our food all year long, decorative onions (Alliums) provide us with all of their benefits in a considerably shorter amount of time. But just as garlic and onions are a feast for our taste sensations, seeing them in bloom is a feast for the eyes. This easy-to-grow plant, which has won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit five times, is well-known throughout the world and will undoubtedly become the center of attention in your late-spring garden. It can grow as high as 5 feet.
- Height
- Fragrance
- Color
Purple is the traditional color of Allium, closely followed by white. But you can see that those aren’t the only hues on our Allium page: What about the hues of Allium Moly’s yellow, Allium Scarlet Mohican’s red, or Allium Ostrowskianum’s strong pink?
Bloom period
Alliums peak from mid/late spring to early summer, offering a suitably bombastic end to the flower bulb season.
Longevity
Allium bulbs are perennial and self-propagating, returning each year and spreading a few more seeds with them each spring.
many kinds
Nearly as many different types of allium exist as there are varieties. Their distinctions can be seen in the size of the plants and the appearance of the blooms, which can be traditional like Azureum or odd like Allium Hair or Allium Bulgaricum.
Planting
Alliums prefer a location with some sunshine and soil that drains well. The bulbs should be planted in the fall, with their pointed ends facing up, 4 inches deep for the lesser variety and 6 inches deep for the larger ones. After planting, give your plants plenty of water. By late May or early June, huge, gorgeous globes on towering stalks will beautify your yard.
Forcing
Alliums can be pushed, although they require more freezing time and post-chilling growth time than other bulbs. Place the bulbs with their pointy ends up in a well-draining pot and cover them with one inch of dirt. It’s best to use three bulbs per 6-inch container. Water thoroughly and let drain. Put the pots somewhere cold and dark for at least 10 to 12 weeks. The bulbs may grow healthy, robust roots at temperatures between 38 and 42 degrees Fahrenheit. Do periodically check the soil to make sure it’s still moist enough, and add water as necessary. The pots will need to be transferred to a colder location, between 32 and 25 degrees Fahrenheit, after the first 10 weeks. They must remain here for an another 8 to 10 weeks while being watched for proper moisture levels. After this second freezing period, bring the bulbs to a bright room with a temperature of no more than 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit since at higher temperatures, the stalks won’t grow strong enough to hold the bloom. The bulbs in this room will require additional fluorescent lighting, exposing them to light for up to 16 hours a day. Once flower buds begin to form, bring the pots back to a slightly colder environment (50–55F), since this will increase the flower’s lifespan to at least 10 days.
Planting in containers
Locate a sizable, deep pot that has drainage holes, and then fill it with dirt. The sharp ends of the allium bulbs should be planted as deeply as possible. Cover them with dirt, give them plenty of water, and keep them somewhere relatively cool and dark until at least April, when you should relocate them to a location that receives as much sunlight as you can. Potted alliums are great for putting on a striking display on your balcony, rooftop, or porch.
Pricing
Right now, all of our alliums are on sale, making it the ideal moment to choose the kind that best suits your preferences and financial situation. The astonishing Allium Drumsticks have a low price point of $0.18 per bulb for 100, dropping by more than 40% to $0.10 per bulb for 5000. The enormous Summer Drummer has a mid-range pricing range that starts at $1.65 per bulb for 10 and down to $0.94 per bulb for 1000. At 200 bulbs, our Elite Allium Globemaster is discounted by 47%, making each bulb only $4.25 instead of the regular $7.95 price.
Combinations
Given that Alliums are quite the drama queens due to their size, you can either choose to heighten the drama with contrasting flowers, such as yellow Tulip Sunshine Club, or you can choose to lessen the drama by surrounding them with flower bulbs in complementary colors, such as purple Tulip Night Club or Tulip White Triumphator.