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Allium obliquum
  • RHS Plants for pollinators

lopsided onion

Bulbous perennial about 1m tall, with short rhizomes and narrow, stem-clasping, blue-green leaves. Pale yellow-green, ball-shaped flowers are about 2.5cm across and appear in mid-summer on twisty stems; suited to wet soils

Synonyms
Allium ramosum Jacq.

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Size
Ultimate height
0.5–1 metres
Time to ultimate height
1–2 years
Ultimate spread
0–0.1 metre
Growing conditions
Clay
Loam
Sand
Moisture
Moist but well–drained
pH
Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
Colour & scent
StemFlowerFoliageFruit
Spring Green
Summer Yellow Green
Autumn
Winter
Position
  • Full sun
Aspect

South–facing or West–facing

Exposure
Sheltered
Hardiness
H4
Botanical details
Family
Amaryllidaceae
Native to the UK
No
Foliage
Deciduous
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

Correct

How to grow

Cultivation

Grow in fertile soil that is not too dry, in full sun. Suitable for wet soils. Plant bulbs 5-10cm deep in autumn. See allium cultivation for more information

Propagation

Propagate by seed when just ripe or in spring; or propagate by offsets which can be carefully detached by lifting the bulb after flowering has finished. See bulb propagation

Suggested planting locations and garden types
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Gravel garden
  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Patio and container plants
  • Wildlife gardens
  • Cut flowers
  • Flower borders and beds
Pruning

No pruning required, other than to remove old flowered stems and foliage

Pests

May be susceptible to allium leaf miner and onion fly

Diseases

May be susceptible to onion white rot and onion downy mildew

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