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BulbsHerbs - Culinary

Allium 'Guardsman'
  • RHS AGM
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

onion (salad) 'Guardsman'

Vigorous, clump-forming bulbous perennial that is both edible and decorative, producing high-yields of spring-onion-like shoots from late spring to autumn, and conical to rounded heads of small, white flowers in mid-summer

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Size
Ultimate height
0.5–1 metres
Time to ultimate height
1–2 years
Ultimate spread
0.1–0.5 metres
Growing conditions
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Cream White Green
Autumn
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
  • Partial shade
Aspect

South–facing or West–facing

Exposure
Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness
H3
Botanical details
Family
Amaryllidaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous or Semi evergreen
Habit
Clump forming
Genus

Allium are bulbous herbaceous perennials with a strong onion or garlic scent, linear, strap-shaped or cylindrical basal leaves and star-shaped or bell-shaped flowers in an umbel on a leafless stem

Name status

Unresolved

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in rich well-drained soil, planting six inches apart in rows or in between crops to fill in gaps.

Propagation

Propagate by seed. See sowing vegetable seeds

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • Wildlife gardens
Pruning

Deadhead to avoid the plant going to seed if grown as an edible crop.

Pests

May be susceptible to leek moth, onion fly, eelworm.

Diseases

May be susceptible to bolting, bull neck, downy mildew, neckrot, rust, white rot.

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