SKU: 00840369421975 ‘Wild About Allium’ Mix 8 Bulbs

Name: ‘Wild About Allium’ Mix 8 Bulbs
Brand: daylilynursery
SKU: 421975
Price: 19.95 USD
Availability: InStock

‘Wild About Allium’ Mix creates a spectacular late-spring and early-summer display with an assortment of elegant purple and white globe-shaped flowers floating high above the garden on tall, slender stems. Combining different ornamental Alliums in one planting creates beautiful variation in flower color, height, and globe size while maintaining a wonderfully coordinated appearance.

Growing approximately 24–36 inches tall, this mixture produces rounded flower heads that can reach approximately 4–6 inches across. Each globe is composed of dozens to hundreds of tiny star-shaped florets, creating an intricate floral sphere that adds bold architectural form without overwhelming neighboring plants.

Wild About Allium is particularly effective when planted in generous groups throughout perennial borders. The tall stems allow the colorful globes to rise above lower-growing plants, creating the impression that the flowers are floating throughout the landscape. The combination of purple and white is equally at home in cottage gardens, contemporary landscapes, cutting gardens, and pollinator plantings.

These ornamental onions aren't just beautiful—they are also remarkably useful garden plants. Their nectar-rich blossoms attract bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinators, while their onion-family compounds make them generally unappealing to deer, rabbits, and many bulb-eating animals.

Easy to grow in sunny, well-drained locations and increasingly drought tolerant once established, Wild About Allium Mix provides a dramatic transition between spring bulbs and early-summer perennials. The flower heads are excellent for both fresh bouquets and dried arrangements, and healthy bulbs can return for many years under favorable growing conditions.

$19.95

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Plant Features & Growing Information

Growth Habit: Upright, clump-forming bulbous perennials producing basal foliage followed by tall, mostly leafless flowering stems topped with rounded flower clusters.
Mixture Characteristics: Wild About Allium is a mixture rather than a single cultivar, so individual bulbs may produce somewhat different flower sizes, shades, heights, and bloom times.
Mature Height: Approximately 24–36 inches tall, creating attractive variation in height throughout a mass planting.
Mature Spread: Individual bulbs have a relatively narrow footprint, although established plants can gradually develop larger clumps through bulb offsets.
Bloom Color: A coordinated mixture of purple and white, with individual flowers potentially ranging from lavender and violet-purple to richer purple and crisp white.
Flower Form: Rounded to globe-shaped flower heads composed of numerous small, star-shaped individual florets.
Bloom Size: Flower heads commonly reach approximately 4–6 inches across, although exact size can vary among bulbs in the mixture.
Bloom Time: Generally flowers from late spring into early summer, helping bridge the seasonal gap between tulips and daffodils and summer-flowering perennials.
Fragrance: Mildly fragrant to noticeable depending on the individual Allium in the mix. Flowers may have a subtle sweet or onion-family scent, while foliage and bulbs typically release a stronger onion or garlic-like aroma when crushed.
Foliage: Produces green, strap-shaped basal foliage. The leaves of many ornamental Alliums begin yellowing or declining around flowering time, which is a normal part of their seasonal growth cycle.
Fruit Flavor: Not grown for edible fruit. Pollinated flowers eventually form dry seed capsules rather than fleshy fruits, and these have no recognized culinary fruit flavor.
Culinary Uses: Not recommended for consumption. Although the genus Allium includes familiar edible crops such as onions, garlic, leeks, and chives, Wild About Allium is sold as an ornamental mixture. The species and cultivars included should not automatically be assumed to have the same culinary suitability as edible Alliums.
Medicinal Uses: No established safe medicinal use is recommended for this ornamental mixture. While edible members of the onion family have long histories of traditional medicinal use, those applications should not automatically be extended to unidentified ornamental Allium cultivars.
Possible Toxicity to Pets: Potentially toxic to cats and dogs if sufficiently ingested. Members of the Allium genus contain sulfur compounds that can damage red blood cells. Cats are particularly sensitive, although dogs can also be affected.
Pet Toxicity Symptoms: Significant ingestion of Allium plant material can potentially cause vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, lethargy, pale gums, increased heart rate, increased breathing rate, and anemia. Keep bulbs and plant material away from pets likely to chew plants.
Possible Toxicity to Humans: Because this is a mixture of ornamental Alliums rather than a named edible crop, do not consume the bulbs, foliage, flowers, or seeds unless a particular component has been positively identified as edible. Plant sap may occasionally irritate sensitive skin.
Deer Resistance: Excellent. Deer generally avoid ornamental Alliums because of their onion-like flavor and aroma.
Rabbit Resistance: Good to excellent. Rabbits usually find ornamental Alliums unpalatable.
Squirrel Resistance: Good. Allium bulbs are generally much less appealing to squirrels than tulips or crocuses.
Rodent Resistance: Generally good, although no bulb should be considered completely wildlife-proof.
Pollinator Value: Excellent. The nectar-rich flowers are highly attractive to bees, butterflies, and other beneficial pollinating insects.
Pest Resistance: Generally trouble-free. Possible pests include allium leaf miner, onion fly, thrips, slugs, and snails, although serious problems are uncommon in healthy ornamental plantings.
Disease Concerns: Potential diseases include downy mildew, onion white rot, and bulb rot. Excellent drainage is one of the best ways to prevent bulb problems.
USDA Planting Zones: Generally recommended for USDA Zones 4–9, with some commercial selections of this mixture listed through Zone 10.
Sun Preferences: Performs best in full sun, ideally receiving at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily.
Partial Shade: Can tolerate light partial shade, particularly where summers are warm, but flowering and stem strength are generally best with abundant sunlight.
Drought Tolerance: Good once established. Ornamental Alliums tolerate relatively dry conditions particularly well during summer dormancy.
Water Requirements: Provide moderate moisture during active spring growth, allowing the soil to drain between watering. Reduce supplemental irrigation after foliage begins dying back.
Soil Preferences: Prefers loose, fertile, well-drained soil. Sandy and loamy soils are excellent, although many ornamental Alliums adapt to a range of soil types as long as drainage is good.
Growth Rate: Moderate. Bulbs establish underground during fall and winter before rapidly producing foliage and flowering stems in spring.
Naturalizing Ability: Good under favorable conditions. Healthy bulbs can return for many years and may gradually multiply through offsets.
Cut Flower Uses: Excellent. The long stems and globe-shaped purple and white flowers add dramatic architectural form to fresh bouquets.
Dried Flower Uses: Excellent. Allow mature flower heads to begin drying before harvesting them for long-lasting dried arrangements and wreaths.
Container Growing: Suitable for large containers and patio planters, provided containers have excellent drainage and sufficient depth.
Landscape Uses: Excellent for perennial borders, cottage gardens, pollinator gardens, cutting gardens, gravel gardens, mass plantings, contemporary landscapes, and mixed spring bulb displays.

When & How to Prune

During Flowering: No pruning is necessary while plants are actively blooming.
For Fresh Flowers: Cut stems when the flower heads have developed good color and many of the individual florets have opened.
Deadheading: Spent flower heads can be removed after flowering if a neat appearance is preferred.
Leaving Seed Heads: For additional architectural interest, leave spent flower heads standing. Their dried spherical forms remain attractive long after flowering has finished.
Foliage Care: Allow leaves to naturally yellow and die back before removing them. The foliage continues photosynthesizing and replenishing the bulbs after flowering.
Final Cutback: Once foliage is completely yellow or brown, trim it to ground level or gently remove it.
Do Not Remove Green Leaves Early: Prematurely cutting healthy foliage can weaken bulbs and reduce flowering the following season.

Planting Instructions from Bulbs into the Ground

Best Planting Time: Plant Wild About Allium bulbs during fall, generally from September through November, before the ground freezes.
Choose the Location: Select a location receiving full sun to light partial shade with excellent drainage.
Prepare the Soil: Loosen the planting area approximately 8–12 inches deep, removing weeds, rocks, and heavily compacted soil.
Improve Drainage: In heavy clay or poorly drained soil, improve the planting area or use a raised bed. Ornamental Allium bulbs are much more tolerant of dry conditions than prolonged waterlogging.
Planting Depth: Plant bulbs approximately 5–8 inches deep, depending on bulb size. A useful general guideline is to plant Allium bulbs approximately three times as deep as the bulb is tall.
Bulb Orientation: Position each bulb with its pointed end facing upward and the broader basal plate facing downward.
Spacing: Space bulbs approximately 4–8 inches apart, depending on the desired density and individual bulb size.
For a Natural Display: Scatter the bulbs loosely over the planting area before digging individual holes. Planting them where they naturally land creates a less formal, more natural-looking arrangement.
For Maximum Impact: Plant in groups of at least 8–15 bulbs, or use larger drifts for an especially impressive purple-and-white display.
Backfill: Cover bulbs with loosened soil and gently firm the surface without heavily compacting it.
Water After Planting: Water thoroughly immediately after planting to settle the soil and encourage root development.
Fall & Winter Watering: Natural rainfall is generally sufficient. Avoid excessive watering during winter because continuously wet soil can cause bulb rot.
Spring Watering: Provide moderate moisture while foliage and flower stems are actively developing, particularly during prolonged dry weather.
Mulching: Apply approximately 2–3 inches of mulch after the soil cools in colder climates to moderate soil temperatures and suppress weeds.
Fertilization: Where soil fertility is poor, apply a balanced bulb fertilizer or appropriate slow-release fertilizer according to label directions as growth begins.
Avoid Excess Nitrogen: Too much nitrogen can encourage excessive foliage rather than strong flowering.

Overwintering & Seasonal Care

Fall: Plant bulbs in sunny, well-drained soil and water thoroughly after planting.
Winter: Bulbs remain dormant underground while establishing roots and receiving the cold temperatures needed for spring growth.
Early Spring: Strap-shaped green foliage emerges and begins producing energy for the developing flower stems.
Late Spring: Tall stems rise above the foliage and begin forming rounded flower heads.
Late Spring to Early Summer: The mixture bursts into a coordinated display of purple and white globe-shaped blossoms at varying heights.
After Flowering: Remove spent flowers if desired or retain the seed heads for ornamental interest.
Early to Mid-Summer: Foliage naturally yellows and disappears as the bulbs enter dormancy.
Summer Dormancy: Dormant bulbs prefer warm, relatively dry soil. Avoid excessive summer irrigation.
Fall & Winter: Established bulbs can remain in the ground throughout winter within suitable hardiness zones.

Additional Growing Tips

Wild About Allium Mix is especially attractive when planted among roses, peonies, catmint, salvia, lavender, irises, hardy geraniums, hostas, and ornamental grasses. These companion plants help conceal declining Allium foliage while the tall purple and white flower globes rise above them.

Design Tip: Instead of planting all the bulbs in one tight circle, distribute groups throughout a perennial border. Repeating purple and white globes at different points creates rhythm and depth throughout the landscape.

Pollinator Garden Tip: Planting several bulbs together creates a concentrated nectar source for bees and butterflies during the transition from spring into summer.

Foliage Tip: Allium foliage frequently begins looking tired before the flowers have finished blooming. This is normal. Planting bulbs behind shorter perennials allows neighboring foliage to disguise the declining leaves.

Cut Flower Tip: Harvest stems once the flower heads have developed their full color and many of the individual florets have opened.

Dried Flower Tip: Leave selected flower heads standing until they begin drying naturally. Their spherical seed heads can then be cut for long-lasting arrangements.

Naturalizing Tip: Leave healthy bulbs undisturbed after flowering and allow foliage to die naturally. Over time, established plants may multiply and create increasingly impressive displays.

Drainage Tip: Good drainage is one of the most important factors for long-term success. Allium bulbs generally tolerate being somewhat too dry much better than being consistently too wet.

Safety Reminder: Although ornamental Alliums are excellent deer- and rabbit-resistant plants, they belong to the same genus as onions and garlic and can be harmful to cats and dogs when sufficiently ingested. Keep loose bulbs away from pets.