Drumstick allium
Allium sphaerocephalon · Amaryllidaceae
Small, egg-shaped heads that open green and turn deep maroon-purple, on thin, wiry stems in midsummer. It is inexpensive and easy to plant in quantity.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 6 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late June to late July
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Bulb layer
A bed built around drumstick allium
The planner designed this bed around drumstick allium when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) cottage garden in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why drumstick allium stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 11, pink
- 2 Leadwort × 11, blue
- 3 False sunflower 'Summer Sun' × 3, yellow
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Quaking grass × 8, tan
- 7 Drumstick allium × 12, purple
- 8 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
Why this plant
- Nothing here is unique to it. Its leaf, flower shape and colour are all on the plan already. Its case rests on where it stands and when it performs.
Why here
- In the middle. At 2½ ft it stands ahead of false sunflower 'Summer Sun' (3½ ft) without hiding it.
- 12 plants in 2 handfuls. In the gaps between other plants, which fill the space when the bulb is not in growth.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From late June to late July.
- Part of the bed's peak. With false sunflower 'Summer Sun' and quaking grass in late June: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
- Leaves gone by midsummer. They die back and leave bare ground. A perennial that comes up late stands beside it, and grows over the gap.
Planned as a cottage garden: 37 of the 37 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. Low plants run along 92% of the front edge: silver sage, leadwort and Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch'. Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' is the first into flower, in mid May, and leadwort the last to finish, in early October.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where drumstick allium goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft). It is airy enough to see through, so it can also come forward and veil what is behind it.
Its job: bulb layer. Small bulbs planted in handfuls of five or seven in the gaps between other plants, for colour before the perennials wake up.
The latest allium, and the best for weaving: plant the bulbs by the handful between grasses and perennials, and the dark heads will hover above them in July.
- Dark dots threaded through grasses and perennials
- Cut flowers
- Naturalistic planting
What to plant with drumstick allium
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for five weeks; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; happy in the same dry soil.
- Yarrow 'Moonshine': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for five weeks; happy in the same dry soil.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about drumstick allium
Does drumstick allium need sun or shade?
Drumstick allium grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does drumstick allium grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does drumstick allium flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late June to late July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Early July to early August |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 6 | Late June to late July |
| Zone 7 | Late June to mid July |
| Zone 8 | Late June to mid July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should drumstick allium be planted?
4 in (10 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 in (15 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 2½ ft (70 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many drumstick allium plants do I need?
At 4 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 107 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 31 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 343 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as handfuls of five or seven, in the gaps between other plants.
In the bed above, the planner used 12 in two groups.
Is drumstick allium poisonous to dogs and cats?
Yes: moderate toxicity to people, dogs, cats and horses. Like all onions, it can damage red blood cells in dogs, cats and horses if eaten. Eating the bulbs in quantity can also upset a person's stomach.
Rated from NC State Extension. Where references disagree, the more cautious rating is used.
Is there a pet-safe plant like drumstick allium?
These come closest to doing what drumstick allium does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Triteleia 'Queen Fabiola': the same job in a bed; 8 in shorter, flowers mid June to early July.
- Grape hyacinth: the same job in a bed; belongs at the front, not in the middle, 22 in shorter.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat drumstick allium?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will drumstick allium spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Multiplies by offsets and seed and spreads through a bed over time. It is easy to lift where it is not wanted.
What can I plant to hide drumstick allium's leaves after it flowers?
A bulb's leaves have to be left to yellow for about six weeks after flowering, to feed next year's flowers. Plant it among perennials that come up late and spread wide, and they grow over the leaves as they fade:
- Threadleaf coreopsis 'Moonbeam': 18 in tall and 18 in wide, a recorded partner, in flower late June to early September.
- Daylily: 2½ ft tall and 24 in wide, in flower late June to early August.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': 24 in tall and 2½ ft wide, in flower mid May to mid September.
What does drumstick allium look like in winter?
Drumstick allium is underground: it dies back after flowering and waits as a bulb until spring. Mark where it is, so a fork does not find it first.
More Allium
- Allium 'Ambassador' Allium 'Ambassador'
- Allium 'Gladiator' Allium 'Gladiator'
- Allium 'Globemaster' Allium 'Globemaster'
- Allium 'Mount Everest' Allium 'Mount Everest'
- Blue allium Allium caeruleum
- Chives Allium schoenoprasum
- Curly onion Allium senescens subsp. glaucum
- Garlic chives Allium tuberosum
- Giant allium Allium giganteum
- Golden garlic Allium moly
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa' Allium thunbergii 'Ozawa'
- Nodding onion Allium cernuum
- Ornamental onion 'Millenium' Allium 'Millenium'
- Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' Allium hollandicum 'Purple Sensation'
- Ornamental onion 'Summer Beauty' Allium 'Summer Beauty'
- Pink lily leek Allium oreophilum
- Schubert's allium Allium schubertii
- Sicilian honey garlic Allium siculum
- Star of Persia Allium christophii
- Turkestan onion Allium karataviense
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 2½ ft (70 cm) tall, 6 in (15 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 in (10 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle, or further forward: it is airy enough to see through
- Flowers
- Late June to late July; globes; purple
- Leaves
- Fine texture, summer-dormant; green
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Comes from
- Europe, northern Africa, western Asia
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.