Buttered popcorn - 2nd bloom. This is very unusual here because in August it is usually very hot and very dry.

gemini_sage said:RJ, that is so unusual and lovely! Where did you get it?

Hi Neal, I purchased them from Plant Delights, thinking it might be this: Lycoris x caldwellii 'Sky Over Sky," I sent an inquiry to them.

Thanks RJ! Plant Delights always has such cool offerings!

gemini_sage said:Thanks RJ! Plant Delights always has such cool offerings!

Neal, Tony Advent at PDN felt it was a Lycoris x houdyshellii, which is great since its cold hardiness is advertised as 7a and I am but a lowly 4b!

Dwarf yellow tuberose -
(2nd year)

Lilium speciosum - Album and Rubrum (2pics)

Always the last two lilies to bloom.

Happy Single Romero dahlia -

Gloriosas, especially G. carsonii remain a showpiece -

Dahlia Veritable

That G. carsonii is beautiful JM !! If you ever self any blooms, could I be so bold as to ask for some please?First time I have seen that variety.

Be happy to Paul. You may have to remind me by early May as that's when they'll be repotted.

@jmorth You are fairly close to me in zones so I have a question I hope you can answer for me. I bought 3 pkgs. of Allium 'Aflatunense', 'Siculum', and 'Karataviense". I have not gotten them in the ground yet. Do you think it is still okay to plant them in the ground? Will they survive the winter? Should I cover them with straw or bags of mulch to help from frost? The pkg. says planting time is Sept-Dec. I was going to plant them today but it is just too windy. All pkgs. say planting depth is 4" and spacing is 6". Do you find this to be right? I do have a few Allium growing that I planted from bulbs a few years ago but I have also planted some bulbs that never came up and some where only a few came up or none at all. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Any hints on planting Allium seeds??

Jeanne, I don't believe you will have any problem planting the Allium bulbs, for me so long as the ground is not frozen I will plant my bulbs. Even after a few freezes the ground is not frozen so you should be good to go. Mulching will not hurt them. I usually plant at 3x the height of the bulb. The great thing about bulbs is they are pretty fool proof.
Curious what bulbs that you planted that did not come up?

Thanks JR for your suggestion. I think I will try to get them planted tomorrow cause we are suppose to get some rain coming on Wednesday. The ones that came up were Alllium Moly 35 bulbs. They did good. Planted 10 bulbs of Allium Siculum and didn't see any the next year. I am going to try them again. I planted 5 Allium Multibosum and didn't see any of them either. I also planted 5 Allium Christophii and didn't see any the first year and then only one the second year. But I am going to give them a try again. These are the only Allium bulbs I can find here at Menards. I will see if Wal-Mart has any the next time I am there. I may have to resort to ordering Allium online.

They just need good drainage like most bulbs, is there any drainage problem? I've had some in my garden fro the past 20+ years, they are pretty reliable, also nice fall/ winter interest if you leave the flower head.

http://www.finegardening.com/a...

Thanks RJ for the link. I don't think I have drainage problems. But I do put down wood mulch which keeps the ground under fairly wet but not soggy.

@gardenglassgems
Apologies for the late response. This is an excellent time to plant Alliums. I've never used mulch with mine. Frost protection not necessary for most alliums. Good drainage is essential (a little sand mixed in the soil may help).
Aflatunense should work well.
Christopfiii have only lasted at best a couple of years for me.
Karataviense only bloomed well for one season for me, couple returned, then they too, were gone.
Siculum should work well. (aka Nectaroscordum). Bulbs smell like garlic but the hanging bell flowers are very neat in the garden As the flowers get pollanated, they start to stand up like shuttlecocks. Make a neat cut flower if arranged over the viewer.
My favorites are White Mt Everest (very tall white with softball size spheres and A. Schburtii - almost other worldly w/ and outer sphere a foot in circumference and within the pedicals of varius lengths shoot our within the outer circle. Really a wondrous show off allium. However, these have shown a propensity to work well once, if the season is warm in winter they may return. These are originally imported from stock grown Israel and don't seem as hardy as most of the others. Their out of this world presentation is worth their presence.

Most alliums add a neat architectural dimension to gardens filling space as the garden finish the spring blooming blooms and start summer mine stays like lilies, daylilies, and perennials.

Full sun is usually a necessity . I wouldn't worry about watering them in summer as they doubtlessly appreciate the dry side after blooming, I've never fertilized mine either.

Looks like RJ gave good guidelines.

Wishing you an allium successful spring.

@jmorth that you very much for the information. I will go ahead and get them planted. We are predicted to get rain tonight into tomorrow. I hope to get the two that you mentioned someday. I love the look of Allium and want to keep increasing. Have you ever grown them from seed? I have many small patches of the Garlic plant which I understand is also in the Allium family. It sure spreads if the head heads aren't removed.

The alliums you mentioned should be planted 6 to 8 inches deep, 8 to 10 inches apart, though I tend to crowd the last figure a bit.
I've never grown an ornamental onion from seed; however, I've grown Chives quite easily from seed. Garlic can be a pest though that curlicue can be somewhat architectural in scope.
Chives >

gardenglassgems said:@jmorth that you very much for the information. I will go ahead and get them planted. We are predicted to get rain tonight into tomorrow. I hope to get the two that you mentioned someday. I love the look of Allium and want to keep increasing. Have you ever grown them from seed? I have many small patches of the Garlic plant which I understand is also in the Allium family. It sure spreads if the head heads aren't removed.

Jeanne, we grow lots of kinds of allium - I love them, too - and the Purple Sensation self-seeds itself all over the place. I've never tried growing the others from seed, but the bulbs do come back here. I think the advice to plant them at 3 x the depth of the bulb is good advice - I plant them even deeper than that (4 to 5 times) and they are fine and return every year.