Allium TOW

J.E. Shields jshields104@insightbb.com
Wed, 05 Mar 2003 05:41:39 PST
Hi all,

My biggest problem where Allium are concerned is that mentioned before -- 
there are far too many species out there for me to know where to start.

Then there is the matter of sources.  I doubt that I want the stuff that 
many of the mass marketers are selling!  So who are the reliable sources of 
Allium species?

And finally, which ones will grow here in my clayey soil and wet climate 
(averaging 1000 mm per year, more or less, if there were an "average" 
year).  It is hot in summer, most summers, but sometimes very wet and 
sometimes rather dry, but always humid.  It is often very cold in winter, 
sometimes the ground stays frozen for more than 3 months; but in other 
winters, it barely freezes at all.

I would like to see a "Beginner's Guide to Alliums" on the web or in this 
list.  What to buy, by geographic regions; where to buy it; and how to grow 
it.  Right now, I'm not even a novice Allium grower, but more of a 
non-Allium grower.  I do have one pot of Allium neapolitanum in bloom in 
the greenhouse; nice white flowers.

I did get several Allium species in the Alaska Rock Garden Society's Yunnan 
Seed distribution.  One or two of them eventually germinated, but all died 
within the first year.  That was discouraging!

Mark has given us a great introduction to the topic.  How about the rest of 
you filling in some of the blanks for me?

Jim Shields
in central Indiana, where a lot of the snow melted yesterday but where it 
is snowing again this morning.

At 01:15 PM 3/5/03 +0000, you wrote:

>Dear all:
>         Arnold, the one and only unrivalled Allium King (also known as 
> the Onion man) is our Mark McDonough. He can answer virtually any Allium 
> query and has instated in many of us a permanent interest in these 
> neglected bulbs. He deserves more to be famous than Saviola!
>         Lauw, thanks for the typification: it is like you say. What I 
> fail to add was "they demand cold...in this climate"
>         I have found other Alliums that stand heat: Allium subhirsutum 
> and Allium roseum. This latter was imported years ago from a known bulb 
> retailer in San Francisco and carried some pretty markings along that 
> made me remake a whole bed.
>Regards
>Alberto
>
>
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>
>
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*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA                   Tel. +1-317-896-3925
Member of INTERNATIONAL CLIVIA CO-OP


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