I planted several Allium Schubertii bulbs last fall, and they've produced beautiful seed heads once they were done blooming. Can these plants be grown from seed, and If so how long will they take to bloom?

The title of this post should say Schubertii, not Christophii, Sorry!

I don't see why not and you really should give it a try, no harm in trying and you might end up with additional beautiful Alliums! Stars of Persia (Allium cristophii) is a lovely plant!

I googled and found this about sowing seeds: http://www.plant-world-seeds.c...

And, here it says propagate from seed in spring: http://www.finegardening.com/s...

Thanks for the links Lin I will save the seeds, and try winter sowing them since they seem to need chill time. The link also had similar information about shcubertii. I really appreciate the information.

Annette

Hi Anette. Great question!

Our plant database says this:

Propagation: Seeds: Sow in situ or Start indoors
Propagation: Other methods: Bulbs

Ornamental Onion (Allium schubertii)

So presumably you CAN get seeds to germinate.

Maybe some of the 11 ATP members who have the plant would talk about whether they ever tried to germinate seeds and how true to the parents the offspring were.
http://garden.org/lists/plant/...

I don't see "F1" anywhere, or any cultivar names, so presumably it is just the species and ought to come as true to the parents as any plant would that hasn't been inbred for generations.

I found this in "hortipedia":
The plants prefer a sunny situation on dry to moderately moist soil. The substrate should be sandy-loamy, gritty-loamy or sandy clay soil. They tolerate temperatures down to -18°C (USDA zone 7).

Rick,

Thank you for such a detailed answer. I greatly appreciate the information that you have shared.

I've grown alliums from bulbs, but I look forward to seeing if I can get them to grow from seed.

A. christophii reseeds like crazy for me, I don't do anything, they just show up. I also have one A. schubertii and I haven't seen a seedling yet. But go ahead and plant them anyway, I would think they would grow. The seeds may need to be covered with soil.

Annette, was your seed experiment successful? I am curious to know how it turned out.
Also, would any one know how long it takes from germination to blooming for A. schubertii? I would love to give this a try. Mine bloomed for the first time this year. I got it last year.

When would be the best time for transplanting bulbs?

Hi Lynn,

I did not plant the seeds in 2015, the original bulbs planted continue to flower each year. I removed this years seed heads yesterday, and may try to plant some this fall.

I usually plant/transplant my bulbs in the fall.

Thank you for the information Annette, it is helpful. I want to move mine to a different location, so will wait until fall.

I harvested the seed today. They look large and healthy. I'm going to try planting some now, and save some until spring.

I think most A. schubertii on the market are grown in Israel.

We have a local nursery that grows them from seed, Dancing Oaks Nursery outside Monmouth, Oregon.