I am new to ALLIUMS

Our closest Costco is an hour away so I have made a list for John Scheepers and that should keep me busy this fall.

Donna - would 50 of the Drumsticks be enough for a nice little show?

Cathy,

I had a neighbor who had tons of scilla installed. If heavily masses, very pretty.

Arlene,

50 would be a super show. 25 will make a very nice one. And the cool thing about drumstick alliums is that the reproduce with incredible speed. I will pull up one and dislodge 20 bulblets, which I then distribute around the yard. They are darling - and their root systems are so small that they don't disturbl anything else. The play very nicely together.

My drumsticks came up this year, but never really opened at all and dried up, so I guess it was a fnction of our crazy weather. The nicest thing about the drumsticks is that they bloom long after the others, and they generally put on a great show. I always dread the packages full of small bulbs because I can never seem to plant more than half of them.

Marcia

My gardening buddy is licking his chops!

Thanks, Donna.

Marcia - do you have the date they normally bloom here? Maybe on an old photo?

You bet!

In bud in one location, June 28, pic 1

In bloom, in a second location, July 15, pic 2

In bloom, July 20, pic 3

I have another picture of the still in bloom on July 29, but I'm having trouble loading it. So, I's say about a month

I don't remember if the drumsticks actually have open flowers like the larger alliums. I was guessing mid-July, but when I looked at photos from prior years, my memory was instantly refreshed. The first is from July 2, 2011. The second is from June 23, 2009.

The third is a a bonus from last week: Inky Pink. Whe I bought it, it was solid maroon.

I guess it took so long for me to pick the photos that we cross-posted.

This message was edited Aug 26, 2012 12:31 PM

No they have relatively small flowers. The color was the closest I could get to atropupurem, a deicious burgundy that is relatively expensive and doesn' t return, at least for me. Over time I put in 30 and ended up wth one.

I tend to like drumstick with something else, and I use the color as an accent more than I use it for it's shape. In fact, I recall now that it was a Brent and Becky gift. They sent me half a dozen, which very quickly multipled.

Thanks for all the photos and dates, Donna and Marcia. I'd want them for two spots so now I have a good idea where they'll go.

Thanks for starting this thread, rouge, and because of all the great information and terrific photos, I think I'm now ready to order from Van Engelen. I'd appreciate it if all of you allium lovers would please look at the photo of my order (so far) and see if I'm missing out on anything I should add or delete. Thanks!

Based on Donna's experience, I've purchased some A. Christopherii, but I don't think Van Engelen has them. I think I can send you some. My local nursery has them loose this year.

Van Engelen does sell it under the name of Albopilosum. Thanks so much for the offer anyhow, Marcia. You're very kind.

You are purchasing some that are actually new to me, and I would love to know how they do.

I think it's a wonderful list, and you particularly nailed the quantities.

Donna

There was one they didn't have, the little bright pink one you mentioned - Oreophyllum, but it can wait.

Had the form all filled out, adding the shipping and credit card info and then, BAM, Database error. Sometimes an order can stay in place (on some sites) for more than a day yet this was wiped out. I just may not order anything.

I hope you go back and place the order -- only for selfish reasons -- I'd love to hear about your experience with the bulbs.

Oh, I hope you do too! And oreophyllum is a delight!

But if you are hesitating please don't feel pressured. Maybe there is a little voice inside you that says don't do this now. Just do what makes you feel comfy.

Of course, I agree with Donna. I didn't mean to be urging you on if you were thinking better of the order -- my apologies to have sounded that way!

No apologies needed, happy. I understand the wish to see them in bloom...as I also have, but the thought of all the time I put into this before I even filled out the order and then watching it go into outer space is very disheartening.

Donna - I feel I'm probably pressuring myself. Thanks for recognizing it. After I tell myself I won't order, then I look at a photo like this one and can feel myself relenting. The photo is not sideways: the columbine had fallen over in the wind. No other flower can match the look of the allium.

Fate plays a hand in gardening - I'm sure of it. Just read this on today's day in history:

1519: Ferdinand Magellan began his first successful circumnavigation of the world.

How do I not have the courage to place an order when Magellan faced such a challenge?

Oh, gosh, Happ, my apologies to you if I sounded like that. I certainly didn't mean to, and I know that you are much too sweet a person to do anything like that (Donna, express yourself better!)

Love the reference to Magellan. Arlene, you are adorable!

Good Lord, if Magellan could only see my yard, he'd really wonder about my time management skills!

This message was edited Sep 20, 2012 10:46 AM

Funny, happy!

More crazed than adorable, Donna. Just spent another two hours on Scheepers site this time but not writing out an order. Just making up an imaginary order to see if it matches the now non-existent Van Engelen's order. I'm including where each cultivar would be placed, if the bloom time is right for each area, same with height, then creating collages for each one. It's similar to the old carpenter's rule of "Measure twice, cut once".

So far, this is the best I've done with A. Silver Spring and A. Rosenbachianum with clematis Jackmanii. I like it but don't love it. I had hoped to put caladiums at the base of the Jackmanii to hide the bare leg syndrome. They would continue until frost.

Now it's time to go out and see if the spaces I have are realistic for what I want to order. I wonder if Magellan spent a lot of time deciding what clothes to bring on his trip...

If I had a clematis that lovely, I'd pack it all in and head off with Magellan.

He's a bit too old for me.

Thanks. That's the poorest performing Jackmanii we have. I do like it there. Below is the best performing Jackmanii due to backing up (to hide) the compost bins.

Are there any "best of the yellows" with alliums? Even a late blooming June gold would be fine as I'd like it to go with coropsis 'Zagreb' and JI's.

I'm still working on the project during my breaks from an outdoor job.

Well, I can't talk about spacing. I just KNEW I could fit two Burma Midnight peonies in a space. I got them from Peonies.Net, which Leawood recommended to us. They each have at least NINE eyes! And they were on sale for half price $11.00 each!

So they are here. And they are huge. And no, they are not going to fit where I imagined they were. So I am now going to dig up foxgloves and move them to an area where they can naturalize and move the peonies to the spot where they are now. So it means digging at least four holes. Measure once, cut twice, is a lot better than dig two experimental holes, decide they don't work, fill them in, dig out a bed in front of the bergenia, dig up the foxgloves, install them, dig deeper holes for the peonies, put them in.

I really think I am a tiny bit nuts.

American Meadows has something called a Rainbow Mix and a Fireworks Mix (Allium cernuum). Both include yellow in the photo. I ordered the Fireworks Mix, but have yet to receive the order, so I'll have to report back. I expect them to be thrown in together, so I might not know until they bloom. I hope they area a reliable vendor.

Arlene, I love the JIs.

Magellan had more initiative than I. The journey starts with the first step. Maybe tomorrow. It surely got cold fast.

Many gardeners are a tad off balance. Only we would go through all the woes we do and still we want things to be more perfect.

I ripped out and ditched a big area of digitalis since it planted itself in the wrong spot and was 6' tall at the front of a border. That led to moving JI's, digging up some pseudatas, moving lilies...you know how it goes. Now there must be a thousand seedlings from the digitalis. I'll let them fight it out a while longer so they're quicker and easier to eliminate.

At the start of my gardening life I ordered in mixes but it's just not for me. Some plants dwarfed others and some colors I'd rather not have had.

Thanks, I do love my JI's.

Maybe Magellan went off to avoid Mrs. Magellan and her gardening projects.

My husband was cold all day long but I had to change to a very lightweight short-sleeved tee shirt because I was much too hot moving slate, bricks, stones. The weather report said it got up to 66 but to me it felt more like 80 or above.

Sweet success! Now my order has been placed with John Scheepers. I feel good that it's done but I'm sure I'll feel very tired after planting all 400 of them.

You are going to be one busy little digger! They are going to be gorgeous. I see that JS has some yellows.

I also have the Atropurpureum and Aflatunense, and the Caeruleum bulbs should be coming soon. The good thing about the Gladiator and Globemaster is that they are so expensive and large that you only get a few. There will be more than I can plant so sharing is in order.

Yes, I will and probably I will regret ordering when planting time arrives but love it for all the future years.

I ordered the Flavum, which is yellow. It was a choice of that one or Jeannine but Flavum blooms later so that was my choice and I do love the shape of the blooms.

I see your point. Come digging day you may want to dig just one really wide hole that can take several bulbs instead of all individual holes. I've done that with lilies very often. The look of them in photos online always shows a crowd of them and that's how they look best to my eyes.

All of the cultivars I ordered in amounts of 10 and 20 will not be split up in different areas. The items of 50 and 100 will be split up between two areas. It's fun to look forward to spring when fall is just arriving tomorrow.

I just spotted the fact that I missed ordering 20 of Silver Spring so I'll call them immediately.

The Silver Spring are really pretty. I hope they added them to your order.

I'm anxious to see Flavum bloom. Those are the "fireworks mix."

I'm big at digging the hole and putting a bunch in. There will be a lot of digging because the largest bulbs go the deepest with small bulbs above them. One of my favorite things about the big Allium bulbs is that they start growing very early when few plants are growing, and the foliage is attractive. They show up like large rosettes with little red tips. I don't know if any of the others do that. By the time the later blooming plants start, there are lots more growing, and I don't see them till they send up a spike.

Most likely I wouldn't have ordered any alliums except for the fact Silver Spring is so appealing to me.

Digging one hole is SO much easier than planting individually.

I have some oldies (lost ID's) that have the initial leaves, then the spike. Anything green that grows early is so welcome.

Edited to add: I did just receive confirmation of my order with the 10 Silver Spring. Evelyn, at both Van Engelen and Scheepers, is "on the ball".

This message was edited Sep 21, 2012 10:58 AM

Happily, planting lots of alliums is a piece of cake. You don't have to dig to China, and you can put more than one in a slightly wider, but shallow hole. I add them last, after everything else is in. The little darlings are very accommodating.

And they are one of the few bulbs that, if you mess up and leave them on the SURFACE, will sprout anyway. And they can easily be tranplanted in bud (I shipped some that way).

UPDATE

I have no doubt already that my inclusion of Alliums in my fall planting is the best addition to my garden. They performed spectacularly. Thank you for all your advice and encouragement.

But I have a question. I have two GLOBEMASTER allium that are finished blooming but are still on sturdy green stalks. I need to move them to make room for something else. Can I replant them right away stalk and all or can I cut off the stalk and more easily move the bulbs? What do you suggest?

If you like, simply take a trowel and move the plant stalk and all. It ensures a better bulb next year. I do this with allium christophii all the time. And if you move them stalk and all you know where they are when you start digging in the ground.

I'm so happy that you had a good experience. I just love them. This was a great allium year for me, too.

I thought these were drumstick alliums, but I tend to think these might be among the newer plants (Flavum?).

Marcia

You do have drumstick/A. Sphaerecephalon.
http://www.johnscheepers.com/flower-bulbs-index/allium/allium-sphaerocephalon.html

Here's Flavum (it's yellow): http://www.johnscheepers.com/flower-bulbs-index/allium/allium-flavum.html

FOLLOW-UP

After being so impressed with my spring flowering alliums I have discovered that there are some late summer (actually almost late fall?) performing alliums!

For example I have read good things about the harder to find Allium known as thunbergii 'Ozawa'.

Do you have experience with this particular variety?

Are there (many) other fall flowering alliums besides the aforementioned plant?