Dear Mary Sue:
Years ago I was fortunate to have advice from the Allium King
himself and generous as he is, samples of many choice forms. Unfortunately,
this climate is too mild for most of them. When in California I had the
chance to see several of them in the wild and this helped understand why
they were not easy here. Western alliums are gems but tricky here. In Texas
and neighboring states there are a number of species that are easier in
warmer climates, interesting rather than stunning. Among them a cold
requiring species is superb, the golden yellow A. coryi. All those Alliums
from Mediterranean climate Central Asia demand cold.
Those that tolerate our warmth include triquetrum,
schoenoprasum, neapolitanum, senescens, sphaerocephalon (this very heat
tolerant), tuberosum.
Regards
Alberto
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