drumstick alliums

last year

Will these allium push up through groundcovers, like vinca or creeping juniper? If planted on a steep slope, will they flop down? Will they read from a distance? What backdrops do and don’t work? And lastly, how do you avoid weeding them when they look just like onion grass??

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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

last year

And for a differing opinion.......I have found these alliums to be quite attractive and read well from a distance. But I would never consider them "blue", although I do know color interpretation is somewhat subjective :-) I also wonder how appropriate agapanthus may be in the OP's location.......most are not cold climate plants and rarely perform well in lower zones as an inground perennial. I have also not encountered issues with vinca swallowing much of anything, including slow moving grandparents!! LOL!

But I do agree that planting them to grow through a groundcover may not be the best idea. Unless the GC is very flat and mat-like, not dense like vinca or with a woody base like juniper.

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Comments (8)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
Well, nobody has come up with any answers, so I'll just say that, since they prefer well drained soil in full sun, I would not think that conditions which favour Vinca would be good for them. And Creeping juniper can grow a few feet tall which would possiby hide the Alliums, even if they forced their way up through it.
kitasei2 thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
last year
Drumstick alliums are pretty but OMG I regret planting them! I’ve spent too much time the past two springs ripping out seedlings!
kitasei2 thanked woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada
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Embothrium
last year
Not as decorative as one might think looking at promotional photos, with the purple color not registering that much visually and the heads starting to brown while still in season.
kitasei2 thanked Embothrium
Jj J
last year
Have a look at agapanthus, some varieties have the same lovely blue colored flower heads, and they have an attractive, scrappy foliage. Clustered in a swath, they’d make a nice statement while blooming and provide a nice, green backdrop for other plants blooming earlier or later.
kitasei2 thanked Jj J
Jj J
last year
I have found vinca to be sort of a bully, swallowing up azaleas and threatening to smother slow moving grandparents…
kitasei2 thanked Jj J
Jj J
last year
I believe I meant “strappy”
Jeb zone 5
last year
There are perfectly winter hardy agapanthus that I have been growing in the ground here in zone 5 for the last 30 + years. They flower very well for me every summer and they come back strongly in the springtime - There are two types of agapanthus, evergreen and deciduous, the deciduous varieties are outside in the ground winter hardy in temperatures below freezing. The hardy agapanthus would probably grow and return just fine in zone 4 if it was planted in well drained soil full sun and fertilized!! (these must be fertilized regularly while growing to do well) The evergreen varieties are best grown in pots. I have had years of experience growing both.

Hardy agapanthus do not grow as large as the tender varieties from my experience. Hope this info helps anyone confused about agapanthus! No one asked, but these are much showier than the drumstick allium - which is nice too, in the right spot.

Here is the hardy one outside and tender in garage.

drumstick alliums

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Comments (8)

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

woodyoak zone 5 southern Ont., Canada

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