Allium victorialis

RHS Plant Profile
alpine leek

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Other common names

long-rooted garlic

Bulbs Herbs - Culinary

A hardy, clump-forming bulbous perennial to about 60cm, with broad, glossy, dark green, leek-like foliage. Rounded heads of creamy-green flowers appear on tall stems from May through until August. The leaves and young shoots are edible with a mild, garlic flavour. Young plants can be used to make delicious pakora

Position

Full sun

Soil Types

Loam, Sand

Size

Time to Maturity
1–2 years

Growing Conditions

Loam Sand
Moisture
Well–drained
pH
Acid or Alkaline or Neutral

Position

Full sun
Aspect
South–facing or West–facing
Exposure
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)
H6

Colour & Scent

Season Stem Flower Foliage Fruit
Spring
Summer
Autumn
Winter

Botanical Details

Family
Amaryllidaceae
Native to GB/Ireland
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
Plant Range
Europe to Himalayas

How to Grow

Cultivation

Plant bulbs fairly deeply in free-draining, peat-free soil with plenty of organic matter mixed in, in full sun. Plants will not thrive in shade

Propagation

Propagate by division of the bulbs in winter

Suggested planting locations and garden types

  • City and courtyard gardens
  • Cottage and informal garden
  • Patio and container plants
  • Flower borders and beds
  • Garden edging

Pruning

Remove faded leaves and spent flowers

Pests

May be susceptible to stem and bulb eelworm, leek moth and onion fly

Diseases

May be susceptible to a rust, onion white rot and downy mildews