Sorry made a mistake, my other Alliums are Christophii "star of persia" and not purple sensation (but still purple) which according to chart blooms later than Mount Everest. I blame it on my gabapentin tablets which I am taking for sciatica, messes with my head, my memory in particular.
The foliage is ugly and hard to hide, the flower heads can be lost to weather, there are fewer of them every year and they are expensive. I think there are more reliable and nicer May/June flowering plants.
I think it probably depends where you are buying them and what your soil is like. I absolutely love alliums, and have them all through the garden, theyre probably my favourite plant. I get them from dutchbulbs usually (j parkers wholesale site), where they are cheap as chips depending on the variety. Far from diminishing, they have started multiplying in our garden, with new ones popping up each year. I think a lot depends on the variety though, white giant and mount everest do well for me, purple sensation is patchy, but others like summer drummer and white cloud seem to struggle. As for the foliage I suppose it depends on the type of borders you have, its a struggle finding the foliage for me!
I can see the foliage in the photo But yes, I have narrower borders which don't make it as easy to hide it. I buy from Peter Nyssen and the fancy varieties are £3+ per bulb. Given that they need to be planted in larger groups, it can get expensive. I like and grow christophii, which is cheap. The ones that haven't do that well for me are Mars and Mount Everest. Maybe they are not deep enough, fed enough, or watered enough, I don't know. I have sandy soil.
Haha @edhelka, well spotted! I need to get that hidden!
Cripes no wonder you said expensive! Have a look on here https://www.dutchbulbs.co.uk/c-sc/alliums.htm, they range from between £10-£30 per 100 depending on variety so you can fill a garden, let alone a border for less than the price of a dozen bulbs from PN! They do cheap bulbs of all descriptions in quantity too. Have always been very happy with the quality, there are sometimes a few with mould on but I figure at the price they’re never really worth worrying about.
...... I buy from Peter Nyssen and the fancy varieties are £3+ per bulb.
My garden makeover came about in spring so missed the bulb route and had to buy plants which I got from Gardening Express, I had 4 x Christophii in a plastic pot at 10.99 & 4 x Mount Everest at 14.97 although I seem to only have 3 of each shooting up so not sure what happened to the 4th, they were planted a bit too close to each other though.
They seem popular for garden designers but less so the general public from my experience. They aren't common round here, non of my immediate neighbours have them , in fact I can think of about four other places I see them in Durham.
They have a stylish look and suit formal and informal planting schemes, bees love them and they provide long lasting interest.
...... I buy from Peter Nyssen and the fancy varieties are £3+ per bulb.
My garden makeover came about in spring so missed the bulb route and had to buy plants which I got from Gardening Express, I had 4 x Christophii in a plastic pot at 10.99 & 4 x Mount Everest at 14.97 although I seem to only have 3 of each shooting up so not sure what happened to the 4th, they were planted a bit too close to each other though.
Christophii is cheap. Mount Everest is mid to high price point. To be specific, when I say fancy, I mean varieties like Ambassador, Giganteum, or Globemaster. Globemaster seems to be the most expensive everywhere, buying it wholesale cuts the cost from £5-6 to £2-3. I guess I can live without mass planting Globemaster
Oh good point, they have switched their quantities since I last ordered, think I paid about £30 for my 100 Mont Blanc, now it’s sold per 10. I guess the price must fluctuate depending on what they have grown in mass. Globe master is nice, not sure I would want to plant it en masse though, it’s a bit of a beast!
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I buy from Peter Nyssen and the fancy varieties are £3+ per bulb. Given that they need to be planted in larger groups, it can get expensive.
I like and grow christophii, which is cheap. The ones that haven't do that well for me are Mars and Mount Everest. Maybe they are not deep enough, fed enough, or watered enough, I don't know. I have sandy soil.
They do cheap bulbs of all descriptions in quantity too.
Have always been very happy with the quality, there are sometimes a few with mould on but I figure at the price they’re never really worth worrying about.
They have a stylish look and suit formal and informal planting schemes, bees love them and they provide long lasting interest.