Can Alliums Be Saved?

This is our first spring in this house and there are some Alliums coming up in the lawn. DBF mowed them over. I'm wondering if I can transplant them into pots or into a better place where they won't be mowed over? Will they still bloom this year or will I lose a year of blooms because of the shock? I don't care if they bloom late. Some of them just got knocked down by the mower, others got chopped off. I came home and the whole lawn smelled like onions, LOL! Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Mmmm...I wonder what kind of alliums you have in your lawn...? Do they look like 'chives'? If so, maybe they are the 'wild onions'?

Sometimes people get those kind, aka 'wild onions', in their lawns and it makes them crazy and the allium invades everywhere. If those are what you have you may want to beware of them unless you really are fond of their bloom.

About the other kind of less wild alliums, as I understand it, they have already formed their bulbs by the time they bloom so that you don't have to be too concerned about their decapitation by mowers. The one thing about the fancier alliums is that they generally don't like a lot of summer watering though, so to keep them a long time you will have to watch that.

Here is a link from Brent & Becky's bulb catalog and maybe you can find out more info about your alliums from them: http://www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com/spring/genus.php?genusid=1

Good luck!

Thanks. The only info I can find right now says the only big difference between Alliums and onions is the flower, lol. Soooo, since I have a cold right now, I'll dig them up in a few days and see what I find. Hopefully it's something good. If not, then it's just less work! :)

Heather, if there are any he did not mow over, keep an eye on them. If so and they flower, keep them. If not, perhaps you can purchase some for next year. They are early risers, starting in March and store up a lot of stuff in the bulbs. The bulb resembles an onion; bloom does not.

Most of my alliums are up and have a flower stalk that is still covered with skin. Some are "drumsticks" and the larger ones are globemaster or giant (gigantum). They are usually sold in the fall and are meant to be planted then. I missed my planting season for the new ones this year and planted in the spring as soon as the ground was workable. While they are producing leaves, I don't know if they'll produce blooms this season.

Alliums are tough - you can dig them up anytime and replant them wherever you want, into pots or in the ground. But as tabasco pointed out, there are Alliums that will take over if you let them, so be careful what you wish for......