16 Top Alliums for Your Garden

Alliums are some of the most versatile bulbs for the spring and summer garden. Add interest to your landscape with these top varieties.

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Purple Sensation

Blue Allium

Chives

Moly

Cristophii

Globemaster

Karataviense

Oreophilum

Triquetrum

Millennium

Garlic Chives

Drumstick Allium

Hair

Aflatunense

Mount Everest

Nectaroscordum

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Purple Sensation

This variety is a showstopper thanks to its 3-inch-wide globes of rich purple flowers.

Name: Allium 'Purple Sensation'

Bloom Season: Late spring to early summer

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's one of the deepest-colored alliums.

Blue Allium

It's tough to have a favorite allium, but we think this is one of the best. It offers sky-blue blooms in a 2-inch-wide head and helps bridge the gap between spring bulbs and summer perennials.

Name: Allium caeruleum

Bloom Season: Late spring to early summer

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 2 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: For its sky-blue color.

Chives

As useful in the garden as they are in the kitchen, chives offer little purple blooms that taste as delectable as the leaves.

Name: Allium schoenoprasum

Bloom Season: Mid to late spring

Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 18 inches tall

Zones: 3-9

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's cute and tastes great.

Learn more about chives.

Moly

To gardeners used to the big purple types, this may not even seem like an allium. A delicate-looking rock-garden species, it offers little clusters of golden-yellow blooms.

Name: Allium moly

Bloom Season: Late spring to early summer

Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 8 inches tall

Zones: 3-9

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's highly adaptable and has great color.

Cristophii

An elegant selection, Allium cristophii offers star-shape blooms in silver pink on an 8-inch-wide head. It's especially nice as a dried flower.

Name: Allium cristophii

Bloom Season: Late spring

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 2 feet tall

Zones: 4-8

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It has large heads and a very distinctive look.

Globemaster

One of the largest selections, 'Globemaster' heads can be bigger than a softball.

Name: Allium 'Globemaster'

Bloom Season: Late spring

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall

Zones: 5-10

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The huge, reddish-purple blooms look great in the garden. They often last longer than other alliums.

Karataviense

This variety offers leaves that look as good as the flowers. It offers pale pink globes to 3 inches across that hang over the lovely gray-green leaves.

Name: Allium karataviense

Bloom Season: Late spring to early summer

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 1 foot tall

Zones: 5-9

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It has great foliage to go along with the cute flowers.

Oreophilum

A charming little rock-garden allium, this species offers cute pink blooms in 1-inch-wide heads.

Name: Allium oreophilum

Bloom Season: Late spring

Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 8 inches tall

Zones: 4-9

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's highly adaptable and fits well in nearly any garden because of its dwarf size.

Triquetrum

An uncommon selection, Allium triquetrum offers nodding clusters of white flowers on golf-ball-sized heads.

Name: Allium triquetrum

Bloom Season: Late spring

Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and moist, well-drained soil

Size: To 18 inches tall

Zones: 3-8

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's an uncommon, carefree beauty that's great for naturalizing in borders or woodland gardens.

Millennium

An especially long-blooming selection, 'Millennium' fills the late-summer garden with lavender color. The 2-inch-wide heads float above a mound of glossy green foliage.

Name: Allium 'Millennium'

Bloom Season: Late summer

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 1 foot tall

Zones: 5-8

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The great performance and long bloom season.

Garlic Chives

Another edible allium for the garden, garlic chives bloom late in the season and produce clusters of white flowers. Note: This can self-seed rapidly, so deadhead it to prevent a host of unwanted seedlings.

Name: Allium tuberosum

Bloom Season: Late summer

Growing Conditions: Sun or shade and well-drained soil

Size: To 2 feet tall

Zones: 4-8

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's great for cooking with.

Drumstick Allium

A charming summertime bloomer (it looks great with lilies), drumstick allium produces egg-sized heads in a rich purple color.

Name: Allium sphaerocephalon

Bloom Season: Early to midsummer

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 3-10

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's a no-brainer to grow and adds great texture to the summer garden.

Hair

Love it or hate it, 'Hair' is definitely... unique. It produces a stalk with purple bulbils, each with a set of leaves growing out of them.

Name: Allium 'Hair'

Bloom Season: Late spring

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 2 feet tall

Zones: 4-8

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's a great conversation piece.

Aflatunense

One of the most common types, this winner offers dense globes to 4 inches wide of pink-purple flowers.

Name: Allium aflatunense

Bloom Season: Late spring or early summer

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 4-9

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's a reliable, showy variety. It makes a great focal point in the garden.

Mount Everest

As majestic as its namesake, 'Mount Everest' offers big baseball-size heads of shimmering white flowers on tall stems.

Name: Allium 'Mount Everest'

Bloom Season: Late spring or early summer

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 3 feet tall

Zones: 3-8

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: The large white blooms look great in summer.

Nectaroscordum

Though technically not an allium, this close relative is often sold as one. It blooms with bell-shaped flowers offering reddish-purple markings.

Name: Nectaroscordum siculum

Bloom Season: Late spring

Growing Conditions: Full sun and well-drained soil

Size: To 4 feet tall

Zones: 5-10

Native to North America: No

Why We Love It: It's a highly unique and ornamental selection.

16 Top Alliums for Your Garden

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