Alliums are excellent addition to the perennial border. They are also a cost-effective way to eliminate planting and replanting annuals every year. Like other bulbs, alliums are perennial, lasting a long time and slowly spreading.

Here are some tips for excellent alliums:

Drainage

The only firm cultural requirement to grow great alliums is drainage (and some sun!). Some gardeners add sand or grit to the soil for this purpose. Rotting can threaten blossoms as well as bulbs: if you get a pocket of water at the base of the heavy leaves, make a wee slit for water to exit. Otherwise, flower buds may rot before they rise.

Location

The taller alliums (which may not have leaves at bloom time) can be planted amidst low companions to appear airborne—or intersperse them with higher plants. Clump them. Naturalize. Mix species. Do a long drift of one or more species. If you blend allium species, you’ll have something to show in the flower garden before and after the May-June bloom time of most perennials.

Shorter alliums can be grown beneath or between border plants, in pots, or in a rock garden. Small bulbs are less likely lost in pots after foliage disappears—when you weed, for example. Pots of all sizes add accents and can be moved. Clump the more evergreen ones such as Allium senescens, chives, and A. cernuum.

Grouping Alliums

Plant small allium species in a group of at least 10 bulbs in a clump in the border. Use at least 50-100 bulbs in a larger landscape to make a strong visual statement.

With Groundcovers

Alliums come up nicely through vinca, ivy and other groundcovers which provide the bulbs with a nice green backdrop and makes a strong visual impact.

Dividing and Moving

If you want to divide or move your alliums to another part of the garden, wait to dig them after the foliage begins to turn yellow. Be careful to leave  room around the bulb when you insert your shovel, or you may cut it!

Mulching

Mulching alliums with any light, organic material prevents weeds, controls soil temperature and retains moisture.

Plant Combinations

Try some allium companions from the following list of plants. These suggestions are culled from many references for you to play with—depending on your taste!

Allium Partners:

Japanese/Siberian iris

Achillea 'Coronation Gold'

blue juniper

barberry

smokebush (Cotinus coggygria)

grasses

California poppies

larkspur

Coreopsis 'Zagreb'

Corydalis lutea

variegated hosta

Artemisia 'Valerie Finis'

Geranium 'Johnson’s Blue'

Rosa glauca

rue 'Blue Beauty'

thyme

Mt. Atlas daisy

columbine

pulmonaria

bleeding heart

meadow rue

Thalictrum aquilegiifolium

salmon-colored daylilies

fennel

roses

tulips

hyacinth 'City of Haarlem'

hydrangea

primrose

ajuga

baby’s breath

bronze fennel

lunaria

liatris

heuchera

Dutch iris

eremurus