Onions, chives and garlic are just one "face" of plants belonging to the genus Allium. Decorative species are much more numerous. They are bulb perennials from different regions of the world. Many of them are frost resistant enough for cultivation in open fields in our conditions.
Garlic varieties are extremely diverse, because although they are united by the structure of inflorescences, they have different plant heights, flowering dates as well as size, color, shape and degree of inflorescence filling. The lowest species, such as A. moly golden garlic, reach approx. 15 cm, the tallest ones, such as A. giganteum or Allium 'Gladiator', reach up to 120 cm.
Garlic flowers come in various shades of pink, purple and purple, some can be blue, white, greenish, golden yellow, and even almost black. Their number in the inflorescence is also very different - yellow garlic has a dozen or so, while giant garlic may even have a thousand!
Regardless of the number of flowers, garlic umbels are delightful with their shape: they can form an almost perfect ball (e.g. in A. karataviense caratawan garlic) or on the contrary - the flowers are mounted on stalks of various lengths, giving the impression of an artistic disorder. This is e.g. in Schubert's garlic A. schubertii or A. siculum, which is rare in the cultivation of dagger garlic.
In most species, flowers develop late for bulbs , because in May and June, when the leaves begin to dry out. When arranging discounts, let's take this into account. So let's plan them so that the yellowing leaves do not spoil the overall impression of blooming garlic.We can, for example, cover them with accompanying annual plants or perennials. Sage, catnip or algae work well in this role.
Thanks to the huge variety and low cultivation requirements, garlic is gaining more and more followers, and even becoming fashionable, the more so that they can be used in plantings of various types. Species with very impressive inflorescences, such asSchubert's garlic , can be displayed as solitary plants, preferably against the background of low cover plants. Other species are perfect for fringes or naturalistic plantings. Low garlic works well in rock gardens. Of about 700 species belonging to the genus, about a dozen taxa are cultivated as ornamental, and even more can be found in the collections of, for example, botanical gardens. We present some of them.
Aflatuean garlicaflatuense: inflorescence shoots, growing up to 1 m, ending with purple-purple spherical umbels, but there are many varieties in cultivation with flowers in various shades of white and purple and pink.Inflorescences reach up to 15 cm in diameter. The species blooms in May and June. It is worth using it in larger plantings in combination with perennials that will cover the yellowing leaves of blooming garlic.
Caratavian garlickarataviense is a short species with large (15 cm wide) decorative leaves, usually two, and white-green or pale pink, very regular inflorescences. The leaves remain decorative for a long time after flowering, so it is worth displaying them in flower beds, fringes or in a rock garden. Once planted, it can grow in one place for many years.
Krzysztof's garlicchristophii grows up to 40-50 cm. It has very impressive and beautiful inflorescences. Openwork umbels reach up to 20-25 cm in diameter. They begin to develop in May, but bloom for up to two months. After the flowers fade, the peduncles harden, making the inflorescences a wonderful decoration for dried compositions.
Southern garlicmoly is distinguished by the rare color of garlic flowers. Despite the not very impressive size of plants (15 cm) and inflorescences, the golden yellow color of the flowers catches the eye, especially when plants are planted in larger groups. They can even grow in the shade.
Even shorter (about 10 cm) is theKazakhstani garlicoreophilum. As with southern garlic, about 20 flowers are collected in the inflorescence. They have an intense pink-cherry color.
Obear garlicursinum has become loud recently, mainly due to the taste and he alth benefits of its leaves, used e.g. for salads and salads. This species can also be found in Poland, in humid and shady deciduous forests. The white flowers are gathered in not very large, flat inflorescences that grow up to 20-50 cm.
Cap garlicsphaerocephalon is also our native species. It has tall, thin shoots ending in oval, not too large, dark purple heads. It goes beautifully with grasses. It blooms in July, the latest of these types of garlic.
What is the garlic growing cycle?
It runs similarly to other spring flowering bulbs, e.g.narcissists or sapphires. The bulbs are planted into the ground in autumn, preferably in October. They can grow in one place for many years, but it is a good idea to replant the plants every 2-3 years so that the bulbs do not get too thick. On this occasion, for he alth reasons, it is worth changing the place of their cultivation. It is best to do this in early summer, after vegetation has stopped. Garlic can also spread under good conditions, which is why it is very well suited for naturalistic plantings. Under natural conditions, they inhabit mainly not very wet steppes and meadows, so they prefer the sunny position and permeable soil. In case of drought and intensive growth, the plants should be watered abundantly.
