[pbs] Re: Allium tuberosum
Antennaria at aol.com
Antennaria at aol.com
Sat Mar 8 16:36:41 EST 2003
Re: Allium tuberosum
Certainly an interesting range of responses on A. tuberosum. I think Boyce
Tankersley hit the nail on the head when he shared his experience gardening
in two different climates; in one climate the species was well behaved
whereas in the other it became an aggressive weed. Curiously, it is those
respondants from mild climates that report the species as well behaved, one
might assume it to happen the other way around!
I still grow this plant, but make it a point to deadhead, no matter how busy
I might be. That means cutting off inflorescences when there are still some
open flowers... one of the drawbacks to this species is it's very quick
ripening seed capsules which spoil the effect of the otherwise clean white
flowers. As I mentioned before, the flowers are apomictic, e.g. they're self
fertile and make seed without cross fertilization. I've grown this species
from numerous sources, but aside from the backs of the tepals handsomely
nerved with red on some forms, there's little variation in the species.
Lauw de Jager wrote: "Indeed at can spread by reseeding, but the rhizomes
can
be easily removed (no bulbils are formed)".
- Actually, this species makes a deep-seated densely entwined mat of
tenacious rhizomes, which effectively resists attempts at removal. Many
Alliums I grow, pop out fairly easily (bulb and all) when tugged on, but A.
tuberosum is frustratingly difficult to pull out. When it seeds in and
invades other allium species, the best method of eradication is to spade the
intermixed whole clump up, feather out the entrapped bulbs of the desired
species and replant them.
Even though a thug (the Allium, not Lauw :-) I still like A. tuberosum for
its sturdy stems in tight clumps and attractive white flowers late in the
summer season. When grown in sandy soil in sun, the plants remain fairly
compact. I think the oft-confused Allium ramosum is a better plant.
It is reported that A. tuberosum is frequently confused with A. ramosum, but
I'm not sure why this should be. Allium ramosum is a nice plant (reseeds
modestly, never as weedy as tuberosum), flowering much earlier in June, with
taller stems and ample white flowers, typically sporting a fine red central
nerve down the back of each tepal. The flowers are more open-funnel shaped
compared to the wide open stars of tuberosum, and the inflorescence is more
upright or fastigiate compared to the hemispherical domes of A. tuberosum.
I made a PBS wiki link to the person who previously uploaded A. tuberosum:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pbs/pbswiki/files/Allium_tuberosum_4.JPG
Can the person who uploaded that photo let me know, and I'll give proper
attribution to the wiki link.
I have also posted a photo of Allium ramosum for comparison at:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pbs/pbswiki/files/allium/Allium_ramosum.jpg
Both links have been placed in the newly created "Rhizomatous Onion" page at:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pbs/pbswiki/index.php/Rhizomatous%20onions
Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States
antennaria at aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5
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