None flowering Allium - why?

I bougth allium bulb the big purple ones over 3 years ago, they are in a pot and in the winter it remains in teh green house.

This year the leaves have appeared an dit looked promising like I may even get a few more stems and heads, however the leaves have been there for weeks now and no sign of a stem and flowers.

I am sure Alliums flower in spring, any ideas what has gone wrong?

 

The type of Alliums you have, big purple ones bloom in June or July. So hang in there and give them sun.

 

I think Redstar has it. The tall purple Allium (A. hollandicum) is flowering now. But my shorter ones with much bigger heads (A. christophii), that you may be refering to, haven't started to flower yet.

 

Thanks for clarifying - so mine must be the A. christophii ones then?

Does anyone know the name of teh smaller ones, i saw them in a stately garden, they look like mini versions about 5-8 inches high?

 

Hi non.g

There are loads of different Allium species, and now the breeders are producing quite a few hybrids. Perhaps the most common short one is Allium karataviense.

Its usually white, but when I was Googling I saw it in a very pale yellow and purple as well.

This is Christophii. Its shorter than Allium hollandicum, had more blue and has larger individual star flowers as well as a larger flower head. It also flowers for twice as long as A. hollandicum.


This is A. hollandicum, which along with A. christophii are probably the two best known ones. About the only variety you can buy is 'Purple Sensation', which really is a lovely purple. But if it self seeds, the seedlings tend to revert more to a bluer shade.


If you like Alliums - this is another of my favorites Allium sphaerocephalon. It has a much smaller head and flowers later than other Alliums. In my garden, its a prolific spreader - which is wonderful.


All the pictures are from the internet with apologies and thanks to their owners.