There are many different varieties of ornamental onions. Large or small, purple or white, flowering in spring or late summer - the range is enormous. How about multi-year?

Ornamental onions are mostly perennial

Most are perennial

In this country, the majority of the ornamental onion plants available on the market are perennial. They owe this to their good winter hardiness. If there is frost, the onion in the subsoil does not become cloudy. It is robust and will sprout again next spring.

A few exceptions are sensitive to frost

But there are also exceptions. A few ornamental alliums, such as the species called Allium schubertii, are not hardy and would therefore only be annuals if left outside over the winter. It is therefore advisable to overwinter such specimens.

Overwinter sensitive species and varieties

It works like this:

  • do not water or fertilize after flowering
  • cut down in the fall
  • carefully dig up the onion
  • Place the onion in a cool, dark place
  • hibernate frost-free until spring
  • Plant outdoors again from April

Your ornamental onions will live like this for many years!

Even hardy specimens can eventually 'run out of air'. If they are weakened, they do not live long. The onion dies. Therefore, the right care and correct choice of location are the be-all and end-all!

Ornamental onion plants should be supplied with nutrients regularly in order to be perennial. This task is performed by an organic complete fertilizer such as compost. This will take care of the ornamental onions in spring. Ornamental onions in the pot are fertilized with a liquid fertilizer until flowering.

In addition to fertilizing, the following is crucial:

  • sunny location
  • overwinter in the pot frost-free
  • don't let it dry out
  • keep from getting wet
  • Don't cut off the leaves too early
  • Cut off inflorescences after withering (seed formation takes energy)

tips

In rough locations, it is best to cover your ornamental onions with some brushwood every autumn.

Category:

Indoor plants