The rockstar of the Allium world is 'Globemaster.' I just planted a couple of bulbs today. The foliage tends to get nasty looking as the bloom period begins, but the size (6-8") and duration of the bloom is well worth it. They make superb cut flowers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Allium 'Globemaster'

I do see you are in South Florida. If that is where you are planting, you will need to treat the bulbs to a cold period in the refrigerator. There are probably others here who know more about this and can help you.

^Actually, just looked it up and they do not require a chill period. Many sites list 'Globemaster' as okay for Zone 10. I would just try and see. Here is another link to some other varieties of Allium.

Here is a link that might be useful: Alliums

Thanks for the link Scott! I just planted some garlic and a shallot from the grocery store about an hour ago (I was excited...my family usually calls it impatience though lol). At the very least, it will do its job and repel the spider mites, and if I'm lucky, it'll have some cool blooms.

As for Globemaster, it sure is beautiful and showy! Unfortunately at this point, I think it would be far too big for my space. I plan on keeping the Alliums in pots in my screen enclosure next to my potted rose. I'm moving 3 hours upstate when I graduate in 8 months, so I want everything easily transportable. I'll have to give it a shot when I settle into my new place though!

You may also want to check out the Allium Forum. I am not sure how active it is, but you may be able to get some info about specific varieties in the genus (including garlic and shallots) there.

an allium forum.. go figure ...

my experience with the smaller allium ... was that they ended up being ridiculously invasive spreading both thru bulb multiplying and seed .. over the course of 5 years or so ... anyone who has wild onion/garlic running rampart thru their gardens and lawn can probably attest to such ... [that is not so in regard to the giant ones, as far as i know] .. you might want to find out and research the latin names of whichever you decide to try ...

i dont know how much good having potted ones will be in regard to pest control ... but you can experiment on that and find out how it all works out for you ... my gut tells me that if there is prevention it is soil based.. and by having them in separate pots.. you are kind of defeating such ... i doubt its an air borne thing.. but who knows... [well .. someone probably will and they can chime in.. and i will defer if need be]

ken

Scott - I put it out there on the Allium forum. Nothing yet, but I'll just have to wait and see - thanks for suggesting that.

Ken - You make a good point about soil based prevention - I'll have to do some digging around on that (hehe). Do you know the names of the Alliums you grew? At least maybe I can put them on the "stay away from these!" list. Thanks!

oh sure..

it was the yellow one.. and the pink one.. lol ... and maybe the lilac one ....

no i dont know .. they were 6 to 8 inches high .. planted as 5 to 10 bulbs.. and a few years later.. 50 million bulbs ...

about the same scale as grape hyacinths ....

i moved to get away from them ...

boy its hard to google allium .. beyond the giant ones .... when you have no clue as to the second latin name .... see link ..

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: scroll down thru the blog ...

Wow Ken, your garden is amaaaaaazing!! I've always had dreams of having a large, beautiful English 'walking' garden (I owe that to all those Regency novels/movies I suppose!). You're not in the States are you? I saw you mentioned Wales...

And yikes about the bulbs!! :/ I'll definitely have to do some careful sleuthing before I choose my varieties. Thanks for sharing your experience!

i am in MICHIGAN.. adrain MI to be specific ...

that isnt my blog ... i just found a pic of what i recall and it was in that blog..

is that where you got the wales???

below is my garden.. i dont think it is technically and english walking garden ... lol

ken

this is north from my front door{{gwi:280926}}

and this is NE from my patio
{{gwi:240153}}
look close .. no allium.. lol

Haha - yes, that's where I got the Wales from :P guess that's what I get for assuming! Well your garden may not be an English garden, but it certainly is laid out very beautifully! I love the ornamental shrubs and the gravel (?) walkways. Very picturesque. I'm actually visiting Michigan next summer to meet some of my BF's family. I can't wait. I don't think FL is all that beautiful so I love going up North and coveting all the plants [that I can't have -__-]

Lol yes, no Alliums. Maybe I'll just plant Thyme next to the roses :P Invasive plants scare the pants off me!

Somebody out there, tell me there are non-invasive Alliums for my zone! lol

I don't think any cultivated species of Allium is considered invasive (meaning it naturalizes in the wild and crowds out native species). Wild onion (A. canadense), three-cornered leek (A. triquetrum), wild garlic (A. vineale), and Ramsons (A. ursinum) are invasive but people don't typically grow them in their gardens (on purpose, that is!). Only Allium tuberosum (garlic chives) strikes me as a somewhat aggressive cultivated species (meaning it can take over your garden if you do not control it).

The more popular ornamental species such as A. giganteum and its cultivars and hybrids (such as 'Globemaster') are not aggressive and certainly not invasive. They make babies (offsets) that tend to come up next to them and form a slowly spreading clump. You can easily remove the babies if you don't want them.

i did not mean to use 'invasive' within its horticultural definition ...

i simply meant.. that it spread wildly thru MY garden beds ...

the problem with such ... is that it is hard to eradicate ... bulbs ... do not react to roundup.. the way other things do ... in my garden ...

regardless.. the OP is on the right track as far as making sure she learns about such.. BEFORE simply planting them.. and as to using them as bug prevention in a pot ... or in the garden

knowledge is power.. as they say ..

BTW .. when i 'did' roses ... i had upwards of 125 hybrid T's ... and they required a monthly regimen of sprays [disease and bugs, including systemics] .. and fertilizing ... for maximum performance ... there was no way around it ... you may do the organic thing.. on a couple.. but when you decide to get carried away ... [hmmm, who would that be.. lol] .... warfare must begin ...

ken

Not all Alliums spread. I just Googled growing Alliums in Florida and got plenty of hits.