Content
Allium roundhead is a perennial decorative onion with original spherical flowers of soft purple color. The plant is unpretentious and has good winter hardiness. It does not need abundant watering as it tolerates drought well. Allium can be grown from both bulbs and seeds.
Description
Allium roundhead is a decorative onion that more closely resembles the original flower in soft purple, pink and lilac shades. This is a perennial, fairly tall herbaceous plant (up to 50 cm) with large spherical flowers (up to 8 cm in diameter). Flowering begins at the end of June and lasts 2-3 weeks. Flowers exude fragrance and decorate the garden. Rubbing the leaves will release a garlicky smell.
Allium roundhead flowers attract attention due to their unusual shape and pleasant light purple color.
This variety is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and good winter hardiness, thanks to which it can be grown both in the Central part of Russia and in other regions (Urals, Siberia, Far East).
They can be immediately covered with other ornamental plants, for example, ground cover or grass.
Growing from seeds
You can grow allium yourself from seeds. They are planted in the spring, when the snow has melted and frosts are not expected, or in the fall a month before the temperature drops. Germination rate is not very high, to increase it you need to:
- soak the seeds in a solution of a growth stimulator (Epin, Kornevin) and others;
- plant more material than necessary. After this, carry out a pick.
Both during autumn and spring planting, the seeds of allium roundhead are planted under a film and watered abundantly. The soil is first dug up and complex mineral fertilizer is applied. After sprouts appear 5-7 cm high, they are planted at a distance of 30-50 cm from each other.
You can collect allium seeds yourself when the heads are completely wilted and dry.
How and when to plant in open ground
Allium roundhead can be planted as bulbs in the spring or fall. In the latter case, the plants will immediately receive frost hardening, which will allow them to take root better. If the deadline is missed, spring planting is also acceptable.
Site selection and preparation
When choosing a location, you should pay attention to several points:
- Decorative – round-headed allium looks good in open, illuminated spaces.
- Minimum moisture - decorative onions do not grow in wetlands or lowlands.
- No strong drafts.
It is better to prepare the site several weeks before planting.To do this, you need to dig it up and add humus with wood ash or complex mineral fertilizer (50 g/m2).
Planting stages
Planting instructions are quite simple:
- Prepare several holes at a distance of 30-50 cm. They should be as deep as 3 onion diameters.
- Lay a drainage layer - pebbles, brick chips.
- Mix garden soil with humus and compost (2:1:1), add a pinch of wood ash (if it was not added during digging).
- Plant the bulbs, lay down the soil and tamp it down lightly.
- Water the beds with settled water and mulch the surface with torus, sawdust, hay or other available materials.
Care
Caring for roundhead allium is easy. Decorative onions need regular, but not too much watering. The surface of the soil should remain only slightly moist. The plant tolerates short-term drought well, so even in the absence of rain, it is enough to water once a week. To keep the soil moist longer, it can be mulched with peat, pine needles, and straw.
Fertilizing for allium roundhead is applied several times per season:
- In the spring, when leaves and shoots begin to form, it is important to add any nitrogen-containing fertilizer.
- During the formation of buds and flowering, a complex mineral fertilizer or a mixture of superphosphates and potassium salt is applied.
- The same potassium phosphate composition is fed at the beginning of September to prepare the plant for the winter season.
- If possible, immediately before the onset of frost the soil can be covered with peat and humus.
To achieve lush flowering, round-headed allium needs to be fed three times per season.
After watering and fertilizing, the soil needs to be loosened.Allium roundhead prefers light soil saturated with oxygen. In this case, nutrients will quickly reach the plant tissue. You also need to periodically weed so that weeds do not interfere with the onions’ normal growth.
Diseases and pests
Allium roundhead, like other types of onions, has good immunity to diseases and pests. However, incorrect agricultural practices (excessive watering) can lead to the following diseases:
- cervical rot;
- powdery mildew.
If the leaves of the plant begin to yellow en masse and a powdery coating appears on them, it is necessary to treat the onion with any fungicide as quickly as possible, for example: Bordeaux mixture, Skor, Fitosporin, Ordan, Maxim.
Of the insects, the onion fly and root mite can cause the greatest harm to round-headed allium. To combat them, plants can be sprayed with any insecticide. For this they use Karbofos, Chlorophos, Fitoverm, Aktara and others.
Reproduction
Most often, round-headed allium is propagated by dividing the mother bush, which is 3-4 years old. To do this, in the fall the bulbs are manually separated from the mother bulbs and then planted in a permanent place. Along with the daughter bulbs, you can also use the mother bulb.
Another method of reproduction is by bulbs. This is the name for the small bulbs that appear after flowering ends. They are also planted in the fall, after first keeping them for several hours in a solution that stimulates root formation.
Photos in landscape design
Allium roundhead looks very beautiful thanks to its lush lilac flowers. It can be used in different ways: single plantings, alpine slides, plantings along paths, in an open, illuminated place (a well-groomed lawn), ridges.
Allium roundhead is often planted along paths
Multi-tiered compositions of decorative bows look unusual and are often used by designers
Planting along a low fence will allow you to zone the flower garden
By planting allium densely, you can create a hedge.
Conclusion
Allium roundhead is quite easy to grow in the garden. If desired, decorative onions can be cultivated even indoors by choosing a suitable pot with drainage holes. Decorative onions do not have any special care requirements, so any gardener can grow them.
