--- title: "10 Flowering Alliums for the Garden" description: "Explore ten flowering alliums for the garden, from blue allium to chives, with notes on flowering seasons and ornamental plants." canonical: "https://kitchencuddle.com/onions-that-flower/" author: "Anushree R." published: "2022-07-27T15:15:49" updated: "2026-10-30T02:00:24" --- # 10 Flowering Alliums for the Garden ![Onion flowers](https://kitchencuddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/onion-flowers-1024x576.jpeg) Bulb onions are usually grown as annual crops, but they have a biennial life cycle and can flower in their second season. Cold exposure can also trigger early flowering, known as bolting. However, some onions are specially grown for their beautiful blooms. These ornamental onions are a prized addition to gardens. They’re highly valued for their decorative value. Let’s take a closer look at these onion varieties. ## 10 Flowering Alliums for the Garden Onions belong to the genus Allium in the Amaryllidaceae family. The genus also includes garlic, shallots and chives. Many ornamental alliums are grown for their flower heads, although the size and flowering season vary by species and cultivar. They can add bright and beautiful colors to a garden and become a focal point. Here are some of these beautiful Allium varieties. ### 1\. Blue Allium [Blue allium, Allium caeruleum](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/808/allium-caeruleum/details), produces blue flower heads. This plant originated in Siberia but is grown all over the world now. The Blue Allium flowers occur as clusters. Each flower has a star shape, while the cluster has a globular structure. The flowers grow over an inch and add a beautiful pop of color to any garden setting. This variety of Allium thrives when it gets a good amount of light. Hence, it does best in full sun. The flowers usually bloom toward the end of spring or early summer and keep well for several weeks. ### 2\. Moly Allium Moly is also called Golden Garlic. It’s a lovely perennial Allium variety that produces ornamental yellow flowers. The flowers are star-shaped and grow on the stalks in bunches. Treat this planting as ornamental unless you have positively identified the species and confirmed that it was grown for food. Do not eat florist or nursery plants that may have received products not approved for edible crops. Moly grows best in sunny spots. However, it tolerates the shade as well. It’s a good plant for beginners because it will manage to grow with minimum care. [Moly can spread through offsets and self-seeding](https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/allium-moly/). Remove spent flower heads if you want to limit seedlings. ### 3\. Allium Globemaster Allium Globemaster is a showstopper onion that produces enormous round violet onion flowers. The flower head is made of many tiny violet flowers that cluster to form a circle. The flowers are spherical and have shaggy petals. Each bulb head grows up to 10 inches in diameter, making it one of the largest flowers in the onion family. The flowers bloom during spring and summer. Globemaster flowers don’t smell like onions. However, if you cut the stalk and smell it, it has a distinct oniony odor. ### 4\. Millennium Onion Millennium is a hybrid ornamental onion. This plant produces beautiful pink and purple globular flowers. The flowers rise out of rhizome bulbs in the soil. The stalks of this plant clump together to form a beautiful green bunch. Flowers appear at the end of the stalks in a cluster. These bobbing heads are colorful and attractive. One of the best things about Millennium onions is that each plant produces multiple clumps of flowers, whereas most Allium plants produce only one bulbous head per stalk. So millennium plants look thicker. The plant blooms in mid-summer and lasts throughout the season. ### 5\. Purple Sensation Purple Sensation is a strikingly beautiful Allium. It produces stunning purple flowers. It’s called the Persian onion or Dutch garlic and comes from Iran and Kyrgyzstan. The flowers of this plant appear in clumps, with a dozen or more flowers per bunch. It has a rich and shiny violet color with a fluorescent sheen adding to its appeal. The leaves of this plant are a beautiful blue-green color. They’re thick and strap-like. Purple Sensation flowers are used in flower arrangements for their beautiful color and long shelf-life. ### 6\. Allium Mount Everest [![Allium Mount Everest](https://kitchencuddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/allium-mount-everest-1024x576.jpeg)](https://kitchencuddle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/allium-mount-everest.jpeg) As you can guess from the name, Allium Mount Everest produces gigantic onion flowers. This majestic onion bloom bears fifty or more flowers on each stalk. The flower heads are large, almost as big as baseballs. Each flower is star-shaped with green specks. The stems grow taller than other varieties and can reach up to 3 feet in height. Hence, it’s one of the bigger onion flowers. The leaves have a greyish-green color. These plants are hardy and thrive in well-drained sandy soil. They don’t need frequent watering and hold up for several weeks. Mount Everest flowers in late spring or early summer. The dried seed heads can remain decorative after the flowers have faded. ### 7\. Drumstick Allium Drumstick Allium flowers are different from other Allium varieties because they produce elongated clusters. These flowers also appear in bunches. However, they aren’t clumped together like a globe but instead have a longer egg-like shape. When the flowers bloom, they’re green. Over time, they change into red and finally become purplish-brown. The flowers thrive in full sunlight. They also need well-drained sandy soil that isn’t prone to water-logging. The plant spreads through seeds and also grows from fall-planted bulbs. If you want to contain the spread of this plant, remove the flowers before they disperse the seeds. ### 8\. Chives Chives are widely used in cooking. The leaves and stems of these plants are edible and used as garnishes and ingredients for cooking. However, the plant also produces edible flowers when it matures. These flowers are also edible, and they taste best when they’re fresh and have just opened. Chive flowers are bright purple. They appear in big bunches. If you look closely, you will notice that each bunch has several flowers that stick together to look like a single flower. There may be up to thirty flowers in each bunch. They bloom together to form a vivid purple ball. Chives usually flower in spring or early summer, with timing depending on the climate. ### 9\. Karataviense Allium Karataviense is a beautiful plant with leaves that are just as attractive as the flowers. It’s also called the Turkistan onion and is a compact bulbous perennial onion plant. This plant originated in Asia and is an unusual low-growing onion. The onion plant bears large globes of pink and white star-shaped flowers. Several flowers clump together to form a big globe-like structure. The flowers have dark eyes, which creates a textured look for the flowers. This plant requires more water than other varieties of Allium. They smell sweet and bloom from late spring to summer. The foliage is decorative with broad greyish-blue leaves with beautiful pink hues along their edges. ### 10\. Pink Lily Leek Pink Lily Leek is also called Allium Oreophilum. The flowers of this onion plant aren’t like typical globe-like Allium flowers. Instead, they’re compact, hardy bulbs with loosely spread, delicate rose star-shaped flowers. The color of the flower ranges from light pink to rosy red or even bright fuchsia. They pop against the dull greyish green stalks of the plant. The leaves are narrow, long, and sturdy. Although the flowers aren’t as big as other onion varieties, they have ornamental value and are widely chosen for rock gardens. The Pink Lily Leek is easy to grow and maintain. It thrives in nutrient-rich, composted soil. The plant must be kept moist throughout the growing season. It also needs full sun. It profusely flowers and produces beautiful blooms when grown in sunny areas and provided with good nutrition and enough water.