Pink lily leek
Allium oreophilum · Amaryllidaceae
A dwarf allium with loose heads of bright carmine-pink flowers, just above two grey-green leaves, in late spring.
- Size
- 6 in tall, 6 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June
- Pets
- Toxic (moderate)
- Job in a bed
- Bulb layer
A bed built around pink lily leek
The planner designed this bed around pink lily leek 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 pink lily leek 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 Pink lily leek × 7, pink
- 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 6 in it stands ahead of stiff goldenrod (4 ft) without hiding it.
- 7 plants in one handful. 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 mid June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch', quaking grass and ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' in late May: 4 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. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 55 to 45, left to right. The bold leaves of stiff goldenrod are set against the fine leaves of Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch', the kind of contrast that keeps a bed from blurring.
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 pink lily leek goes in a border
At 6 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 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.
Small, cheap and easy: plant it by the hundred along the front of a sunny bed or in a rock garden. It increases steadily without becoming a weed.
- Rock gardens
- The front of a sunny border
- Planting in quantity
What to plant with pink lily leek
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Creeping thyme: in flower together for two weeks, from early June; low enough (3 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; tall enough (10 in) to stand behind it; happy in the same dry soil.
- Sea thrift: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about pink lily leek
Does pink lily leek need sun or shade?
Pink lily leek grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does pink lily leek grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does pink lily leek flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to mid June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Late May to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to mid June |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to early June |
| Zone 9 | Late April to late May |
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 pink lily leek 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 6 in (15 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many pink lily leek 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 seven in one group.
Is pink lily leek 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 pink lily leek?
These come closest to doing what pink lily leek does, and no toxicity is recorded for them:
- Spring starflower: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early April to early May, blue or white, not pink.
- Grape hyacinth: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers mid April to early May, blue, not pink.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat pink lily leek?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
Will pink lily leek spread?
It seeds itself about; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Increases by offsets and by seed in light soil. Remove the seed heads if it spreads too far.
What can I plant to hide pink lily leek'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:
- Lady's mantle: 18 in tall and 24 in wide, in flower late May to early July.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': 24 in tall and 2½ ft wide, in flower mid May to mid September.
- Garden chrysanthemum: 24 in tall and 24 in wide, in flower mid September to late October.
What does pink lily leek look like in winter?
Pink lily leek 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 pink lily leek good for bees and butterflies?
Pink lily leek 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
- 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'
- Schubert's allium Allium schubertii
- Sicilian honey garlic Allium siculum
- Star of Persia Allium christophii
- Turkestan onion Allium karataviense
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Bulb
- Size
- 6 in (15 cm) tall, 6 in (15 cm) wide
- Plant
- 4 in (10 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June; globes; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, summer-dormant; blue-green
- Shape
- Mounding, self-seeding
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Comes from
- E. Turkey to NW. China and NW. Pakistan
- Attracts
- Pollinators
- Stands up to
- 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.