|
 December
2000
 Chamaecyparis
obtusa
'Kosteri'
November
2000
Epimediums
October
2000
Asplenium
trichomanes
September
2000
Gentiana
paradoxa
 August
2000
Allium
cyaneum
July
2000
Geranium
dalmaticum
June
2000
Lewisia
rediviva
May
2000
Sanguinaria
canadensis
'Multiplex'
April
2000
Pulsatilla
slavica
March
2000
Crocus
ancyrensis
February
2000
Cassiope
lycopodioides
January
2000
Corallorhiza
maculata
Archive 2004
Archive
2003
Archive
2002
Archive
2001
Archive
1999
Archive
1998
Archive
1997
|
Plant
of the Month
August
2000
Allium
cyaneum
by Iza Goroff
The genus
Allium is well known for its
edible members: garlic, chives, onions, leeks, and shallots.
Long considered within the lily family, some botanists have
preferred placing the genus in its own family or in the
Amaryllidaceae. Allium cyaneum
is native to grasslands in Western China. This Plant of the
Month was originally identified as
Allium beesianum, the name
under which it was purchased. Mark McDonough, an allium
expert, identified the photograph as
A. cyaneum. " The true
Allium beesianum is easy to
distinguish from A. cyanum by
the length of the stamens, they're shorter (not exserted)
than the tepals in A.
beesianum, and clearly longer than the tepals
(exserted) in A. cyaneum.
Allium cyaneum has smaller,
more starry looking blooms, compared to the semi-nodding,
longish bell-shaped flowers of A.
beesianum."
Allium
cyaneum is a small plant, about 8" (20 cm) tall and
wide in flower. It is quite showy in its August bloom.
The
pictured plant is growing in a sand bed, about six inches of
sand with a topping of 1" of pea gravel over an oak leaf
mold enriched sand soil. It receives about 75% sun.
Allium cyaneum has survived a
USDA zone 5 winter with no damage. Presumably it is hardier
than that, but it has not been fully tested in zone 4.
Propagation
is by seed or division of the clump.
|
