Ornamental onion, a very ornamental perennial

A beautiful single ornamental onion bloom like a purple firework.

Ornamental onion is a beautiful perennial, known for its tall ornamental floral scapes.

Key Ornamental onion facts

NameAllium
Family – Liliaceae (lily family)
Type – perennial

Height – 8 to 40 inches (20 to 100 cm)
Exposure – full sun
Soil – ordinary

Flowering – May to July

Easy to grow, it is perfect in flower beds and also in pots or garden boxes to decorate terraces and balconies.

Planting ornamental onion

Ornamental onion is planted in fall more or less 4 to 5 inches (10 to 12 cm) deep to keep them from freezing.

Pruning and caring for ornamental onion

  • Cut wilted flower scapes as they die off, cutting the stem off as short as you can.
  • Only cut leaves back when they have already turned yellow because that is when the onion bulb is stocking up on nutrients for the next blooming cycle.
  • No need to add fertilizer.

All there is to know about ornamental onion

A whole flowerbed full of blooming ornamental onion.Ornamental onion is a perennial that grows quite easily and which will produce very beautiful purple blue flowers that can be up to 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) across.

In flower beds or along edges, and also along a wall or simply plunked in the middle of the yard, the ornamental impact of this plant is guaranteed!
It is also used in flower bouquets, because the foliage and the flowers both can be used to make appealing bouquets.

Smart tip about ornamental onion

For taller species, stake the stem to keep it from folding under the wind.


Credits for images shared to Nature & Garden (all edits by Gaspard Lorthiois):
Ornamental onion flower by Jonathan Bloy under © CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Ornamental onion flower bed by Duane Retzlaff under Pixabay license