1. * Crinkled Onion – Allium crispum
(AL-ee-um CRISP-um )
Family: Liliaceae (Lily Family)
Native to: Slopes and foothills of central western CA; on clay soils, < 1500 ft elevation.
clumping perennial bulb
mature height: 1 ft.
mature width: 1 ft.
Herbaceous perennial wildflower from a bulb. Leaves blue-green to medium green, strap-like,
withering at time of flowering. Plant dies back to bulb after flowering.
Growth characteristics:
Blooms in spring – usually March-May, depending on weather. Flowers a bright
magenta or magenta-violet. Small, onion-type flowers on short stems; in showy clusters at the ends
of the flowering stalks. A very pretty ornamental onion with unusually vivid flower color.
Blooms/fruits:
Uses in the garden: Great onion for dry shade – under oaks or other water-wise trees & shrubs.
Grows well with native grasses and annual wildflowers. Very showy when massed.
and hillsides. Pretty addition to rock garden. Does well in containers.
Fine on slopes
Sensible substitute for: Non-native ornamental onions.
Attracts: Attracts insect pollinators.
Requirements:
Element
Sun
Soil
Water
Fertilizer
Other
Requirement
Sun to part-shade.
Clays or rocky soils best; any local pH.
Needs dry conditions after flowering (Zone 1 or 1-2).
None needed but fine with organic mulches
Management:
Need for summer/fall dry period is the main challenge.
Propagation: from seed: easy in winter
by bulbs: easy; separate in fall
Plant/seed sources (see list for source numbers): 8, 32
5/1/11
* Native to CA but not to Western L.A. Co.
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