Allium (Ornamental Onion)
at Digging Dog

Including Allium christophii and Allium sphaerocephalon

Allium

Ornamental Onion

Our selections are embellished versions of the common culinary bulbs. Prospering in a sunny, well drained site, these pest resistant Alliums add flair to the garden, your favorite container, or an arrangement; they are attractive either fresh or dried.

Allium christophii  

Star of Persia

As the straplike leaves die off, Allium christophii sends up stout stems topped by sculptural blossoms. The spherical heads, an airy array of delicate amethyst stars, span nearly 10 in., and are almost too big and too beautiful to be real. Breathtaking in borders and bouquets, Star of Persia’s fawn-colored seed heads dry perfectly. Plant a drift in a well drained spot and surround with the leafy, long lasting foliage of Geranium ‘Buxton’s Variety’. This Allium withstands both deer and rodents in our garden.

Blooms June.

Size: 2' high x 8"–10" wide; hardy to zone 4.

Allium christophii (P-0824)
Each $6.75
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Allium ‘Gladiator’  

True to its name, ‘Gladiator’ is a crowd pleaser that asserts fantastic giant globes shouldered by tall hefty stems and rugged sword-shaped green basal foliage. Vibrant purple blooms, 4 to 5 in. wide, exuding a sweet yet pungent aroma, are composed of tightset green-eyed florets with a metallic luster.

A hybrid between Allium hollandicum and most likely Allium macleanii, this Allium can be staged throughout a stand of white and yellow Verbascums for spectacular colors and divergent flower forms.

Blooms May – June.

Size: 3'–4' high x 8"–12" wide; hardy to zone 5.

Allium ‘Gladiator’ (P-0981)
Each $7.50
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Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’  

Aptly named, this ornamental Allium creates quite a stir as several hundred petite, deep purple flowers squeeze into one sensational looking, baseball-sized inflorescence. A selection made by Mr. J. Bijl in 1963 to create a dark, vividly hued flower color, ‘Purple Sensation’ rises on tall beefy bare stems from a low nest of narrow, long twisting leaves that disappear around blooming time. Its strongly defined form can be repeated throughout the perennial border delivering concentrated violet punches and dynamic counterpoints to softer shapes and hues, while remaining equally delightful when seed heads appear.

Blooms May – June.

Size: 2'–3' high x 6"–8" wide; hardy to zone 4.

Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’ (P-1431)
Each $6.75
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Allium ‘Mont Blanc’  

Impressive, 5 to 6 in. creamy white spheres perch atop brawny, straight, green glistening stems, evoking a snowy mountain’s majestic appeal. The tallest of the white flowering Alliums, this long blooming luminous beauty can be superimposed en masse against a dark backdrop or interplanted amid quantities of purple flowering Alliums. Coveted by gardeners, florists and bees, vigorous ‘Mont Blanc’ yields long strapping leaves persisting ‘til flowering time and is distasteful to those fretful deer.

Blooms May – June.

Size: 3'–4' high x 8"–12" wide; hardy to zone 4.

Allium ‘Mont Blanc’ (P-1558)
Each $7.75
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Allium schubertii  

Tumbleweed Onion

Evoking the charged energy of a bursting firecracker, some 200 miniature star-styled florets top stiff pedicels, which shoot out in all different lengths from the flower's center. Sponsored by wavy, 1 in. wide straps and thick staunch stems, the fantastic spidery globes—enormous, loosely arranged lilac-pink wonders tailor-made for arrangements—measure at least a foot across and lay claim to their name as the entire ball eventually blows away, scattering seeds.

This uniquely shaped ornamental onion's native home is the mediterranean and central asia, and naturally it relishes a warm sunny niche, and when dormant, a toasty dry spell.

Blooms May – June.

Size: 12"–18" high x 8"–10" wide; hardy to zone 5.

Allium schubertii (p-1430)
Each $6.00
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Allium sphaerocephalon  

Arising from narrow grassy leaves, the tall and upright, slender stems present sumptuous thickset globes in blazon crimson-purple hues. An intriguing bicolor effect is created as green buds slowly open from the bottom up. Prized by bumblebees, the long lasting, 2 in. wide blooms assure a breathtaking summer spectacle en masse with swaths of Echinops ‘Blue Glow’ and Monarda ‘Violet Queen’ interspersed.

Blooms July–August.

Size: 2'–2-1/2' high x 5" wide; hardy to zone 5.

Allium sphaerocephalon (P-1093)
Each $6.00
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