The Allium, Most Graceful Ornamental Flower in your Gardens

If you have ever seen chives blooming you may have been surprised to find that the plant is as ornamental as it is useful in the kitchen. Most gardeners do not realize that many members of the onion family produce flowers pretty enough to grow in gardens. They are a very diverse group, with flower clusters in many sizes, shapes and colors and blooming times range from spring to summer to fall. The one thing they have in common is an oniony smell when the foliage is rubbed or stepped on, but this does not happen often enough to offend, and some of the flowers are sweetly fragrant. Most of them make fine, long lasting cut flowers, and some every dry well for winter arrangements.

A wonderful allium to try is Allium giganteum “giant garlic”. In early summer it sends up long stalks about 4 feet tall, topped with 5 inch balls, perfectly round, made up of tiny purple flowers. Buy the time they bloom there is little or no foliage around the stems, so grow them together with lower, bushy plants or behind a low wall. If you like big, round purple flowers, you will really love A. albopilosum “A. christophii” commonly called “star of Persia”. Its flower cluster is looser than that of A. giganteum and up to a foot in diameter, with star shaped flowers in late spring. Stems are shorter, about 2 feet.

A.aflatunense has 4 inch purple balls in May and grows to 2 feet or a bit more. Other handsome spring alliums include A. moly “golden garlic”, with flatter clusters of yellow flowers, about a foot tall, and A. neapolitanum “daffodil garlic”, which is roughly the same height and bears fragrant white flowers in April. For late summer bloom, A. tuberosum “Chinese chives or garlic chives”, which has white, fragrant flower clusters. For fall try A. stellatum or A. thunbergii, both short stemmed and pink flowering. Most alliums are hardy to Zone 4, A. neapolitanum is hardy to Zone 6.

Moreover, if you want to grow Allium then this plant like full sun, though A. giganteum will do fine in part shade. Soil can be of average fertility but it should be lightened with organic matter and moist but well drained. They can be planted in spring of fall, from bulbs or from seed though seed grown plants may take a long time to reach flowering size. Plant the short ones about 4 inches apart, the tall ones 8 inches to a foot apart.

A few things are very important to watch for; some alliums should be deadheaded to prevent them from self sowing all over the place. They also propagate themselves by forming little bulblets on the sides of the bulbs by which you can increase your stock if you so desire. A friend of mine cautions me that his A. giganteum did not produce flowers the second year becaust its energy had gone into producing the bulblets, although by the third year the bulblets were large enough to flower. So if your allium gives you foliage but no flowers, be patient; it may perform better in the future. Also note that many spring flowering species are summer dormant, so don’t be alarmed when the foliage disappears.

Grow Begonia with their Own Special Virtues

Well, there are several types of begonias you can grow indoors, all of them very different from one another in the way they look and grow, and all with their own special virtues. The fibrousrooted wax begonias, which are normally grown most often as outdoor annuals, make fine ever blooming houseplant. Tuberous begonias also can be grown as houseplants though they will only bloom in summer Angel-wing begonias (Begonia coccinea) are fribrous rooted, cane type begonias that grow up to 4 feet and more and bear dangling clusters of small are flowers almost year round. Iron cross begonias “B. masoniana” are foliage plants, growing 1 ½ feet tall from rhizomes; they are valued for their crinkly, apple green leaves, which are marked in the center with a dark green cross.

Perhaps the most spectacular and popular begonias grown as houseplants are rex and Rieger begonias. Rex begonias “B. rex-cultorum” grow from rhizomes and have small pink or white flowers in spring, but heyare most prized for their arge magnificent leaves, which are an intricate brocade of green, red, bronze, pink or silver. They make a lavish mound a foot tall or a bit more miniature varieties are 6 to 8 inches. Rieger begonias “B. x hiemalis” often have colored leaves but are grown for their profuse, showy flowers at least 2 inches across in shades of red, pink, orange and yellow. Which provide months of color in winter? They are fibrous rooted.

Begonias in general like plenty of light, and flowering types should have several hours of sun each day for best winter bloom. Daytime temperature should be in the 65- to 75- degree range a bit cooler for Rieger begonias and not below 50 degree at night. All especially rex begonias like humid air, but it must circulate well to avoid mildew, especially the large leaved types.

Soil with should be a nice, light, organic mix, like that sold for African violets, and should be kept evenly moist, or just slightly dry between watering. But drainage must be excellent and you should avoid wetting the leaves. Fertilize lightly with a balanced fertilizer about every two weeks, while plants are in active growth or in the case of Rieger begonias, all year. Fibrous rooted kinds should be repotted in spring as needed; those with rhizomes go in shallow pots and should remain rootbound until you can see rhizomes all over the soil surface.

Moreover Rieger begonias that stop blooming can be cut back to several inches to produce fresh, flowering growth. Stems of rex begonias should be cut back to the base if they start to  get leggy. Wax begonias also benefit from being cut back, and stems of angel wing begonias without leaves should be cut back in early spring to make new growth. All begonias can be propagated easily by stem cuttings. With rex and Rieger begonias leaf cutting are also a good method.