Golden garlic
Allium moly · Amaryllidaceae
Loose clusters of bright yellow stars over broad, blue-grey leaves in early summer. It spreads into cheerful colonies.
- Size
- 12 in tall, 6 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Bulb layer
A bed built around golden garlic
The planner designed this bed around golden garlic 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 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why golden garlic stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Cottage pinks × 9, pink
- 2 Sedum 'Lidakense' × 13, pink
- 3 Anise hyssop × 5, lavender
- 4 False sunflower 'Summer Nights' × 3, yellow
- 5 Blue oat grass × 1, tan
- 6 English lavender 'Hidcote' × 3, purple
- 7 Golden garlic × 12, yellow
- 8 Schubert's allium × 3, pink
Why this plant
- The only flat plates. The others are dense clusters, spires, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- Near the front. At 12 in it stands ahead of anise hyssop (3 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 four weeks. From late May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With cottage pinks, blue oat grass, English lavender 'Hidcote' and others in late June: 5 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: 34 of the 34 plants (100%), bulbs aside, stand alone or in groups of no more than five, small enough for the kinds to mingle. The flowering is at its height in late June, with 5 kinds out together. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 51% of the visual weight and the right half 49%.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 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 golden garlic goes in a border
At 12 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
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 only yellow among the common alliums, and one of the easiest. Let it spread at the feet of shrubs, where its colonising habit is an advantage.
- Naturalising in sun or light shade
- The front of a border
- Under deciduous shrubs
What to plant with golden garlic
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for four weeks, from late May; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; tall enough (24 in) to stand behind it.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': blue against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for three weeks; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves.
- Salvia 'May Night': purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for four weeks; grows up in time to hide its dying leaves; tall enough (24 in) to stand behind it.
Questions about golden garlic
Does golden garlic need sun or shade?
Golden garlic grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does golden garlic grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 golden garlic flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early June to late June |
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid June |
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 golden garlic 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 12 in (30 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many golden garlic 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 golden garlic 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.
Do deer eat golden garlic?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
Will golden garlic 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 golden garlic'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:
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': 24 in tall and 2½ ft wide, a recorded partner, in flower mid May to mid September.
- Cranesbill 'Rozanne': 18 in tall and 24 in wide, a recorded partner, in flower early June to early October.
- Lady's mantle: 18 in tall and 24 in wide, in flower late May to early July.
What does golden garlic look like in winter?
Golden garlic 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.
Is golden garlic good for bees and butterflies?
Golden garlic is visited by pollinators.
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
- Drumstick allium Allium sphaerocephalon
- Garlic chives Allium tuberosum
- Giant allium Allium giganteum
- 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
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Garden plants toxic to cats
- Garden plants toxic to dogs
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 12 in (30 cm) tall, 6 in (15 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 in (10 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; flat plates; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, summer-dormant; blue-green
- Shape
- Upright, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Comes from
- E. Spain to Italy, NW. Africa
- Attracts
- Pollinators
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, drought, black walnut
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.