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Allium cristophii

 
Allium cristophii
star of Persia
Allium cristophii

Synonym(s) Allium albopilosum
Common name star of Persia
Family alliaceae
Life cycle perennial bulb (Z5-9)
Flowers purple (mid-spring)
Size 2-3'
Light sun-part shade
From seed Germinate cold.
detailed seed-starting info below
Seed ripensmid-July

For years I tried getting seed-raised plants to bloom; last fall, I finally gave up and bought a bag of bulbs to plant. Wouldn't you know it - this spring, both the seed-raised ones and the purchased ones bloomed. Well worth the wait, too: striking globular flowerheads with purple flowers start in mid-May. And now that they are happy, they are actually seeding themselves around a bit, which I welcome.

star of Persia
as the flowers fade and dry, they take on a silvery-tan hue, and maintain their presence just as forcefully

We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston.

Seed for this plant is included on my seed trade list

One or more images of this plant are included in my stock photo catalog

About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Allium cristophii


Seed-starting details for this plant

  1. Seed from '00 trade. Baggy 35F (100%G, starting 5w)
  2. Same seed as above. Baggy 35F (95%G, 4-6w)
  3. Seed from '05 garden. Baggy 35F (5w; 60%G, 5w) - 70F (no further G)

Really prefers cold over warm for germinating. Growing on seedlings is tricky, since top growth withers after it forms a small bulb.


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