Miniature handsome allium city-loving: where to plant and how to care for him
Allium is one of the many (about 400) varieties of ornamental onions. This simple, but very beautiful and delicate plant from the bulbous family can often be found in a flower bed near a private house.
Planting and caring for the city-loving allium will not cause much trouble. Due to its unpretentious nature, the flower grows and multiplies practically without the participation of a grower, and its compact form allows you to grow a plant even in the smallest areas. The total height of the bush does not exceed 20 cm, but its flowers are rather large, in the form of open, dark crimson, bells. They form disheveled inflorescences up to 10 cm in diameter and emit a pleasant sweet aroma.
Allium mountain-loving is also found under the name Ostrovsky's onion.
When and where to plant?
Like most bulbs, allium tolerates low temperatures well, so it can be planted in early spring, in March or April (depending on the growing region).
Florists also practice winter sowing of Ostrovsky's bulbs (this varieties they are very small). This should be done in September-October, but no later than when the outside air temperature drops below 10 degrees Celsius.
In order for the allium to bloom profusely, and its color does not lose its saturation, it is better to take a solar flower bed under the plant. He prefers loose soil, where there is no stagnation of moisture, because the bulbs begin to hurt at high humidity. Before planting, it is recommended to dig up the site with the introduction of humus and a small amount of mineral fertilizers. The depth of the hole should be at least twice the height of the bulb itself.
So that small bushes do not get lost in the flower bed among their taller neighbors in the summer, they must be placed in the foreground.
Care measures
Care allium as simple as possible and includes:
- regular weeding;
- gentle loosening of the soil;
- mulching plantings with organic material (bark, leaves) or pebbles in order to avoid rapid loss of moisture and growth of weeds;
- watering depending on weather conditions (more frequent - in dry summers);
- transplant every 5 years.
Some growers dig up the bulbs for the winter and store them in sawdust until spring, and then return them to the flowerbed again, although allium winters excellently in the open field.