Allium vineale

RHS Plant Profile

wild onion

Other common names

crow garlic, crow onion, false garlic, stag's garlic, garlleg gwyllt

Synonyms

Allium assimile
Allium rilaense
Allium compactum
Allium nitens

Bulbs

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A bulbous perennial to 60cm tall, with chive-like, hollow, tubular leaves and flowerheads appearing in June. All parts of the plant smell of garlic. Flowerheads are initally covered by a papery sheath and may contain a few pink flowers but mostly comprise green to purplish bulbils, which enable the plant to spread rapidly

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand

Max Height

0.5-1 metres

Max Spread

0.1-0.5 metres

Size

Time to Maturity: 2–5 years
Max Spread: 0.1-0.5 metres
Max Height: 0.5-1 metres

Growing Conditions

Chalk Clay Loam Sand

Moisture: Moist but well–drained
pH: Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun

Aspect: East–facing or South–facing or West–facing
Exposure: Exposed or Sheltered
Hardiness

Hardiness Ratings

All ratings refer to the UK growing conditions unless otherwise stated. Minimum temperature ranges (in degrees C) are shown in brackets

H1A: under glass all year (>15C)
H1B: can be grown outside in the summer (10 - 15)
H1C: can be grown outside in the summer (5 - 10)
H2: tolerant of low temperatures, but not surviving being frozen (1 to 5)
H3: hardy in coastal and relatively mild parts of the UK (-5 to 1)
H4: hardy through most of the UK (-10 to -5)
H5: hardy in most places throughout the UK even in severe winters (-15 to -10)
H6: hardy in all of UK and northern Europe (-20 to -15)
H7: hardy in the severest European continental climates (< -20): H5

Colour & Scent

Season	Stem	Flower	Foliage	Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family: Amaryllidaceae
Native to GB/Ireland: Yes
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
Plant Range: Europe, N Africa, W Asia

How to Grow

Cultivation

Native to much of England, Wales and southern Scotland, growing in waste places, summer-dry grassland, hedgerows and roadsides. See wild garlics for more information

Propagation

Propagate by bulbils

Suggested planting locations and garden types

Wildflower meadow
Wildlife gardens

Pruning

No pruning required

Pests

Generally pest-free

Diseases

Generally disease-free