Description

Allium christophii (Allium albopilosum)

Star of Persia or Persian Onion

Royal Horticultural Society Award of Garden Merit (AGM)

You will receive enough seed for at least 30+ plants

Gigantic heads of silvery lilac on a stocky 30-40cm stem. Beautiful curled grey-green leaves.

The leaves wither before the flowers appear in early summer.

Flowers through May – July.

It grows to 60 cm (24″) and is cultivated in gardens for its large, showy umbels of silvery pink/lilac star-shaped flowers (up to 100+ per head) with a metallic sheen, 20–25 cm (8-10″) in diameter, which appear in early summer.

The flowers are followed by attractive fruiting clusters. The seed heads are long lasting and suitable for dry flower arrangements. Ideal to add colour after the tulips and daffodils have flowered and before many of the summer flowering bulbs are flowering.

The faded flowerheads hold up well in the border and are useful for dried flower arrangements.

Perfect for a sunny site, dotted in small groups among ornamental grasses, or as part of a Mediterranean scheme.

Alliums look best planted between medium-sized herbaceous plants which help to mask the strap-like leaves that die back by the time the flowers appear.

Attracts butterflies and bees. Also perfect for containers.

Propagation is from seed in spring, or, as the clumps become bigger, you can remove bulblet offsets in autumn for growing on.

Larger established clumps can also be divided in spring or autumn.

Family: Allioideae
Genus: Allium
Plant type: Hardy perennial bulb
Native to: Turkey and Iran
Flower colour: Silvery-pink, lilac
Foliage colour: Grey-green
Flowers: Late spring and summer
Sun exposure: Full sun
Soil: Well-drained/light, Moist
Hardiness: Hardy
Height: 60cm (24 inches)