Culture: Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun to light shade. Best in full sun, but appreciates some light afternoon shade in hot summer climates. Best in sandy loams. Plants will naturalize by self-seeding and bulb offsets in optimum growing conditions. Deadhead flowers before seed sets to help control any unwanted spread. Foliage persists past flowering into late summer before dying back. Plants are easily grown from seed which should be planted in spring or from bulbs/bulb offsets which should be planted in autumn.
Noteworthy Characteristics: Allium cernuum, commonly called nodding wild onion, is a native plant which occurs primarily in rocky soils on glades, bluff edges, open woods and slopes in the Ozark region of the State. Plants typically grow 12-18” (less frequently to 24”) tall. Features clumps of flat, narrow, grass-like leaves (to 12” tall) and tiny bell-shaped, pink to lilac pink (occasionally white) flowers which appear in loose, nodding clusters (umbels) atop erect, leafless scapes rising slightly above the foliage. Wild nodding onion is distinguished from most other native alliums by the fact that its scapes crook sharply downward at the top just below the flower so that the flower umbel nods (hence the common name). Blooms in summer. All parts of this plant have an oniony smell when cut or bruised. Although the bulbs and leaves of this plant were once used in cooking (stews) or eaten raw, nodding onion is not generally considered to be of culinary value today.
Specific epithet means nodding. Genus name comes from the classical Latin name for garlic.
Problems: No serious insect or disease problems. Foliage dies back in late summer.
Garden Uses: Rock gardens, border fronts, cottage gardens or naturalized areas.
All plant information courtesy of the Missouri Botanical Garden
Nodding Onion is stunning to have in gardens because of its unique flowers. A ball of star-like flowers forms on each stem, tending to bend downward; hence the name “nodding” onion. The nodding habit may also protect the nectar from rain.
Native American tribes used the bulbs of Nodding Onion as a treatment for croup, colic, colds and fevers. Allium cernuum blooms in midsummer, and the flowers are pollinated by small short-tongued bees, such as Halictid bees. Nodding Onion, like all the Allium species, is deer-resistant.
Allium cernuum grows best in full or partial sun, and moist to medium conditions. It tends to spread by seed and bulb offshoots. The flowers are almost white to shades of purple in color and mature plants can reach up to 18″ in height. This plant is easy to grow and will spread gradually under suitable conditions.
Indoors anytime
Outdoors Seed: Spring or autumn.
Bulb: Autumn. Bulbs grown from seed flower in 2-4 years.
Depth Seed: Surface.
Bulb: cover w/ twice diameter of soil.
Difficult. Place seed in plastic bag together with moist growing medium and refrigerate for 30 days. Provide light and 55-65 degrees F. Grow in flats for 1 year, then pot up singly and sink pots in the ground outdoors in Spring.
PM Germination Code C(60) see Appendix
Divide spring-flowering bulbs in late summer, summer-flower bulbs in spring; or grow from seed. Many species self seed and become invasive.
Price range: $6.00 through $12.00
