Yes and no. This is probably a poorer example to my eyes, kind of a bummer. I have a love/hate relationship with allium. I removed my allium because the foliage looked bad well before it was done blooming no matter what variety I had. I would be really disappointed with this one after seeing some of the great photos of this plant, however even the great blooms have crumby looking foliage.

Rouge, you have such great things growing in your gardens, are you going to keep this?

Sherry

hah. I have/had a few of them. They do get ratty quickly. My DW has use them dried for decoration... and my kid has use them to throw around the yard.

are you going to keep this?

Yup. Given that it is a bulb and so will recede sometime in the summer I think I can afford the space to keep it.

Let's see what it looks like next season : )

sherry

I had to make an Independence Day themed display once, and used these, one each coated with red, white and blue glitter, to represent fireworks. Everyone loved it. Others were painted gold and silver for part of the New Year's display. They can also be spray-painted white (or any other color you choose), for a more subtle effect, and combined with other dried findings.

I've also seen where they were left on the plant & spray painted. I think they were painted sort of a steel blue, looked rather striking. Mine looked pretty good when it bloomed, but alliums tend to disappear after 2 or 3 years for me.

It is an incredible 'structure'.

Oh, almost forgot ... we also used one as the topper for a Christmas tree decorated with ornaments made from garden findings.

Back on track, though, I have noticed they do seem to decline over the years, with fewer returning after a while.

I've grown them for years and it is my favourite allium.

That said, yours does not look very floriferous. Either the bulb is immature or it is sited improperly - which I would have thought impossible for an allium.

Mine always look like a fireworks festival with a starburst in the centre and stars shooting off in all directions. Also, mine is taller than yours, with a sturdy stem to support the oversized head of flowers.

Anyone 'tried' the allium Spider (which is a cross between shubertii and atropurpureum)?