Scientific name: Allium cernuum
Family: AMARYLLIDACEAE, previously LILIACEAE
Common names: “Nodding onion” “walking onion” “ladies leek”
Plant Type: Bulb, herbaceous
Conditions:
Zone: 3-8
Light: Full sun
Exposure: Sheltered
Soil: Average sandy, rocky
Moisture: Well drained, drought tolerant, no irrigation
Aesthetic:
Plant Size: H 6-12″ W 3-6″
Leaf and Stem shape: Linear, strap-shaped leaves with a strong onion scent
Flower: erect stems, nodding at the tips and bearing an umbel of bell-shaped pink flowers in summer
Maintenance: Low – zero
Landscape use: Mixed border, cottage garden, edible, native garden, rock garden
Propagate: By seed and division
Pests & Disease: Onion fly, may rot if too wet, generally healthy
*Deer and rabbit resistant
Comments: Native to BC, edible bulbs and stems widely used by aboriginal people across North America, “walks” across a garden as it naturalizes
Cultivars: ~AGM winner – A. c. ‘Hidcote’
