- Joined: June 2005
- Location: Kadina, South Australia
- Post Count: 2,410
Natalie I'm thinking of next years bulbs and was wondering,did you do anything about that Allium Christiwhatever?I have just seen a photo in a British mag. for country home decorating.In the photo the woman has use the flower head along with the acid green euphorbia in a really tall vase.It just looks beautiful like a huge dandelion thistle(except mauve not yellow).Anyway reread the post and it says will multiply,how fast.They are really expensive here so if I can get away with 1 or 2 bulbs to have a good display in 1 to 2 years,I will.
Hang on did I just say I was willing to wait
me the most impatient gardener?
The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on earth
Dorothy Gurney 1858 - 1952
- Joined: September 2003
- Location: Port Huron, Michigan- zone 5-6
- Post Count: 20,476
If they do well for you , you might find just growing them from seeds will increase the numbers for you much faster than waiting for the individual bulbs to multiply. I'd only guess it could take several years for them to double or triple in numbers, but once they start it doesn't take too long.
"A Rose by any other name...is still a "thorny" issue".
- Joined: September 2003
- Location: Vancouver Island, British Columbia
- Post Count: 7,550
This is an interesting thread because this autumn for the first time ever I planted alliums. I planted 2 bulbs of the giant ones and quite a few of 3 other kinds of allium. I can't wait to see how well they grow.
Mary Vancouver Island Zone 8
- Joined: March 2005
- Location: BC Canada
- Post Count: 9,693
Too funny, Mary.. this is my first planting of them as well. I did a mail order and they were amongst the batch and I planted them in late October. I'm itching to see what comes up.
I'm in zone 8 Vancouver Island BC
- Joined: September 2003
- Location: Quad Cities Zone 5
- Post Count: 28,673
I planted some more this fall and the raccoons dug them up. They weren't chewed up so I planted them again...again they dug them up. I'll have to really look for them this spring because right now they are under chicken wire.
the bulbs, not the raccoons.
booLive well, laugh hard and dig up your yard.
My Blog: ~~
QC Garden ~~ Do you have a garden blog? Become a Blossom Swap link partner:
Swap Links.
- Joined: November 2004
- Location: PacNW
- Post Count: 5,022
I planted a bunch of differnt allium last fall and only 2 made it...boy was a disapointed.
terese
Seattle, Washington Zone 8
- Joined: September 2003
- Location: Port Huron, Michigan- zone 5-6
- Post Count: 20,476
Hows your drainage there terese, and I guess alliums are another of those "wet" sensitive bulbs that need really good drainage perhaps, though they are quite cold tollerant and should do well in the really cold zones as well!! I have yet to add any to my borders, but they are well worth planting and I often admire them , though I see them rarely utilized in gardens in this area for some reason!
"A Rose by any other name...is still a "thorny" issue".
- Joined: September 2003
- Location: Vancouver Island, British Columbia
- Post Count: 7,550
It's good to hear they they probably need good drainage MrSeedy because that's what I have here. I don't often see them used in gardens either, maybe they're not "sophisticated" enough for most gardeners. I like them because they're just a little bit different.
Mary Vancouver Island Zone 8
- Joined: September 2003
- Location: Pennsylvania zone 6
- Post Count: 10,717
They were the first bulb I planted when I started to garden in this house. I am not sure if they multiplied over the years. I never really noticed how much because they are around the rose bush and I do not dig much in that area. But as the years have gone by I get more and more flowers so they must be multiplying down there.
It was a mistake that they are planted in a perfect spot because it is very dry at the end of the driveway. The rose bush has to be watered deeply alot but it is one that has done very well with the Allium planted there.
Do what you can where you are with what you have.
- Joined: January 2005
- Location: pennsylvania
- Post Count: 2,560
boo! tooooooo funny
back to the alliums....they are fantastic, the christopherii, and huge. like boo said, plant them under chicken wire to keep pests from getting at them. i know they don't want to be soggy over the winter but they sure are beautiful in the spring when they do their thing.
as for multiplying....they have multiplied for me but not very quickly....i do love them tho
lynette
"It comes down to a simple choice, get busy living....or get busy dying."......The Shawshank Redemption.
- Joined: June 2005
- Location: Kadina, South Australia
- Post Count: 2,410
Thanks everyone for the tips.i was kind of thinking of planting them under the pinetree,its dry shade well drain part sun.I have ordered a truckload of manure for Autumn that should bulk up the soil again.It's been a few years since I did it but I notice the soil becoming water repellent again so it's time for the neighbours to sniff and go phew again
I have decided to go with 2 of the giant alliums they are $15 a bulb
The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on earth
Dorothy Gurney 1858 - 1952
- Joined: September 2003
- Location: Port Huron, Michigan- zone 5-6
- Post Count: 20,476
I'm sometimes shocked at the prices of various plants , and even bulbs, depending on where you live, and those alliums there are terribly expensive, but having lived in California, where Clivias are nearly like weeds perhaps, considering I used to see so many mass plantings of them, I'm still wondering why so many nurseries in other parts of the country ask for big bucks for a single Clivia plant elsewhere in the U.S. I do think it's a ripoff, to a degree, but it could be those Alliums are in very short supply in Australia, and of course import restrictions will really keep those prices high. It seem just recently looking at one site, a single "usual" orange Clivia, and not the ultra expensive yellow flowered ones, asked for twenty plus dollars for a single plant!! Outrageous, and I've never found them that "breathtaking"!!
"A Rose by any other name...is still a "thorny" issue".
- Joined: September 2004
- Location: Texas--hot zone!
- Post Count: 5,834
I have the smaller alliums and a few of the large purple globe ones. They do quite well here even though I have clay soil. My main problem is I keep losing the smaller ones and repeatedly keep digging them up when I am weeding
. This year I am going to mark each clump with a small decorative rock! The large alliums need to be planted toward the back of the bed as their foliage dies back and looks a little rough.
Linda Texas, hot zone, 7/8
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v670/mla2ofus/
- Joined: May 2006
- Location: Adirondacks
- Post Count: 5,821
oh, sorry Donna...I didn't even see this thread... I never did get my alliums this year, but they are something I still want to order this spring. Who are you looking at to get them through?? $15 a bulb sounds like a lot...even for the giants...that sounds like maybe Brecks?? Keep looking around...I may even have a site on my favorites that sells them...let me look and I'll pm it to you.
Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it.
Natalie - Zone 5
- Joined: January 2006
- Location: Wichita Falls, TX
- Post Count: 1,724
There was a house in Derby Kansas that had two seperate driveways together. They had giant allium planted up the center filling the whole 2feet wide space. It really made a statement. I can't believe I did not walk up to the door and beg for seed. Guess I hadn't had the influence of my blossom swap friends yet.
galu
zone 8b
I love a giggle in my garden
- Joined: January 2006
- Location: Wichita Falls, TX
- Post Count: 1,724
Lowes had the giants for sale and several weeks back they were half price. I think I paid 2.50 for two and kicked myself later for not buying three. Now you all have made me feel better. I can just await the seed. Do they grow large the first year from seed if they are from giant bulbs?
galu
zone 8b
I love a giggle in my garden
- Joined: January 2010
- Location: Cabin Creek WVA
- Post Count: 1,973
"Never ever give up your dreams, even when they're doused with sorrow,
because even though they seem far away, they could come true tomorrow"
- Joined: June 2005
- Location: Kadina, South Australia
- Post Count: 2,410
jealous now mine never even came up waste of 30 dollars.
The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on earth
Dorothy Gurney 1858 - 1952
- Joined: January 2010
- Location: Cabin Creek WVA
- Post Count: 1,973
Donna, alliums require a cold winter rest, do you ever get cold winters? A lot of spring bulbs won't grow if the ground doesn't freeze. I've never had one allium not grow and bloom. Knock on wood lol.
"Never ever give up your dreams, even when they're doused with sorrow,
because even though they seem far away, they could come true tomorrow"
- Joined: September 2003
- Location: Quad Cities Zone 5
- Post Count: 28,673
Hey Ian! Welcome to Blossom Swap! I noticed itty bitty Allium leaves all around my larger plants last spring. I'm hoping they continue to multiply even if it takes them that long to bloom from seed.
booLive well, laugh hard and dig up your yard.
My Blog: ~~
QC Garden ~~ Do you have a garden blog? Become a Blossom Swap link partner:
Swap Links.
- Joined: June 2005
- Location: Kadina, South Australia
- Post Count: 2,410
Smurfboy it can get to 1C here is that cold enough?
The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on earth
Dorothy Gurney 1858 - 1952
- Joined: January 2010
- Location: Cabin Creek WVA
- Post Count: 1,973
Well how cold is 1*c in farenheit? I don't get temps in celcius, we use farenheit
"Never ever give up your dreams, even when they're doused with sorrow,
because even though they seem far away, they could come true tomorrow"
- Joined: October 2008
- Location: Southern Alberta, Canada -Chinook zone
- Post Count: 2,888
We use the so called "new" temp but I'm old enough to remember when we didn't.
I'm not sure if this will help but water freezes at 0 and boils at 100
Your fridge is just above 0, your freezer below
Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower
Alberta Sage
Zone 3
- Joined: June 2005
- Location: Kadina, South Australia
- Post Count: 2,410
well we don't use F we use C but you can google a converter I'm not doing all the work for you.
The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in the garden
Than anywhere else on earth
Dorothy Gurney 1858 - 1952
- Joined: January 2010
- Location: Cabin Creek WVA
- Post Count: 1,973
Blue Bell, I never use Celcius for anything, and i've never been out of the country to need to use it LOL. Besides, I never liked math at all.
So 0C would be 32F and 100C would be 212F since water boils at 212*
"Never ever give up your dreams, even when they're doused with sorrow,
because even though they seem far away, they could come true tomorrow"
- Joined: October 2008
- Location: Southern Alberta, Canada -Chinook zone
- Post Count: 2,888
Quote:Originally Posted by
smurfboy1977 
Blue Bell, I never use Celcius for anything, and i've never been out of the country to need to use it LOL. Besides, I never liked math at all.
So 0C would be 32F and 100C would be 212F since water boils at 212*
Yup
Happiness held is the seed; happiness shared is the flower
Alberta Sage
Zone 3
- Joined: January 2010
- Location: Cabin Creek WVA
- Post Count: 1,973
"Never ever give up your dreams, even when they're doused with sorrow,
because even though they seem far away, they could come true tomorrow"
