Kitchen Garden Forum

Last year I planted a dozen of the large decorative "pom pom" aliums and got a spectacular show. This year they are floweirng again but the heads only seem to be about half the size and I wonder if this is normal?. Do these bulbs have a limited flowering life and are they like tulips which, for a good display, need to be planted fresh every year? Can I leave them in the soil indefinitely? Should I have manured around them to get better results. I allowed the leaves to die down naturally but picked the stems and heads when they'd dried for indoor decoration, so don't think this would have weakened the bulbs unduly.

I'm not speaking with great knowledge here (do I ever!?!), but it sounds as if it could be a feeding problem. In my experience, allium bulbs are long-lived and generally trouble-free, but, as with other bulbs such as daffodils, they probably appreciate a bit of feed such as bone meal or blood fish and bone after flowering, so they can build up the bulbs again for next year. When you buy from a reputable supplier, they are usually grade 1, and well plumped up. Allthe best, K

I think, like a lot of bulbs, if you buy first grade they flower and divide the first year and only get back to full size after a couple more years. Have you got more heads?