In 2019, a very interesting paper was published giving a very good case for splitting the geographically widespread Allium victorialis species complex, at the same time describing a new endemic species to the island Ulleung between Korea and Japan. The paper also mentions that the species is “Rare in natural habitats, but widely cultivated in … Continue reading Allium ulleungense: a new vigorous edimental
There are Allium species that can be harvested year round in the garden, notably nodding onion / Norw:prærieløk (Allium cernuum) which I’ve blogged about before. In autumn, new shoots of Allium carinatum subsp. pulchellum (keeled garlic / Norw: rosenløk) appear and with the mild weather we’ve been experiencing they’ve already reached about 20 cm high. … Continue reading Keeled garlic, a useful winter Allium and edimental in summer
(Note that there is a comment suggesting that this isn’t atroviolaceum and is probably rotundum, although accessions I’ve received as that species are much lower plants; will check in the spring) Allium atroviolaceum is sometimes cultivated as an ornamental. I’ve been growing it for some 15 years now and it is admittedly not very productive as … Continue reading Allium atroviolaceum?: Caucasian Turkish garlic
19th June 2020: Video update from the Allium (Chicago) garden at the NTNU Ringve Botanical Gardens in Trondheim. The heat wave has brought many species into flower and the garden’s looking great! The official opening of the garden, planned for August, has been postponed to 2021. We are working on plant signs which will hopefully be … Continue reading The Allium garden at Ringve
I hope diamond back moths (kålmøll) haven’t taken a liking to onions ;)
It was warm enough to sit outside yesterday and “prick out” (i.e., transplant into bigger pots) all the spring onions and leeks I’d sown a week ago inside. Neither Allium cepa, Allium fistulosum nor Allium ampeloprasum (porrum) need cold treatment to germinate unlike many other Alliums. Of the 40 varieties I sowed, about 28 germinated … Continue reading Pricking out Alliums
The bumblebees love Allium pskemense, the largest onion in my garden, probably the closest perennial onion tastewise to the common bulb onion Allium cepa and it can be very productive, see my blog about Pskem Onion Soup here: http://www.edimentals.com/blog/?page_id=1940
My new life is as a “visiting onion researcher” at the Ringve Botanical Gardens in Trondheim where I’m developing an Allium garden to be officially opened later in the summer! One of the perks is to have access to collections in other botanical gardens on an exchange basis. I visited the Oslo Botanical Gardens last … Continue reading Oslo Allium Raid
(Norsk under) The Allium garden at the Ringve Botanical Garden (Chicago) in Trondheim contains a collection of old Norwegian onions used for food from all over Norway including Allium fistulosum (Welsh onion), A. x proliferum (Egyptian and Catawissa onions), A. oleraceum, A. vineale, A. ursinum, A. scorodoprasum and A.victorialis (the last four are wild or … Continue reading The Allium garden at Ringve
I thought I’d lost this unusual onion, Allium atrosanguineum, but one flower head appeared again this week and there are two other plants, one of which is being moved to the Ringve (Trondheim) Botanical Garden Allium garden!