Allium 2013

[GreenRoofer]

I'm trying to propagate what is labeled as Allium farreri (cyathophorum), and was sold to me by PlantWorldSeeds. Attempt is being made in a bottom watered 50/50 coco peat/sand.

The packet stated that no stratification was necessary. Can this be true?

I've got some under cold treatment as well, but if it's unnecessary, that would be useful to know. I've read this is a 'common' garden plant from multiple sources, but I've never seen it that I can recall.

I've grown A. shoenoprasum, cernuum, and canadense. Only cernuum needed strat.

[Gordon]

Seems that most sites recommend warm/cold/cool, or at least cold stratification for Allium cyathophorum var farreri.

http://www.onrockgarden.com/germination-guide/allium-farreri  4C for 3 weeks then move to 20C for germination

http://tomclothier.hort.net/page02.html recommends Sow at 18-22ºC (64-71ºF) for 2-4 wks, move to -4 to +4ºC (24-39ºF) for 4-6 wks, move to 5-12ºC (41-53ºF) for germination, KLAS says the same thing.

Hope this is helpful.... Good luck with your seed, the packets I bought from Plant World all proved viable.

[McDonough]

I'm trying to propagate what is labeled as Allium farreri (cyathophorum), and was sold to me by PlantWorldSeeds. Attempt is being made in a bottom watered 50/50 coco peat/sand.

The packet stated that no stratification was necessary. Can this be true?

In my experience, some Allium species will germinate under a variety of temperatures (another words, not temperature specific, stratification not necessary), and germination is in response to moisture levels.  Can even sow species like Allium flavum midsummer, flats outdoors (but not in full blast of summer sun where they will dry out quickly), but kept moist, they will germinate in about 2 weeks.  After a soaking rain, go check seed flats, should be good germination.

I haven't sown seed of A. cyathophorum var. farreri in some years now, but will do some experiments this year to validate my memory on this.

[stephenb]

Allium formosum, a new species...

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112814645/kyrgyz-onion-species-discovered-going-unnoticed-100-years-040213/

[McDonough]

Allium formosum, a new species...

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1112814645/kyrgyz-onion-species-discovered-going-unnoticed-100-years-040213/

Thanks for posting this Stephen, always interesting to learn of newly described species. The link you give shows a photo of Allium spathulatum, also a new species, to which newly described A. formosum is closely related.  For those who may not have noticed, there's a small link at the bottom of the article that goes to a full description of Allium formosum with comparitive drawing diagnostics between A. spathulatum and A. formosum. I plan on contacting Dr. Reinhard Fritsch to see if he has available some good photos of both species.  Here's a link to the article:
http://www.pensoft.net/journals/phytokeys/article/4130/allium-formosum-sennikov-lazkov-amaryllidaceae-a-new-species-from-kyrgyzstan

While looking at new species and googling, I found another new one, "Allium aladaghense (Amaryllidaceae, Allieae), a new species of section Asteroprason from northeast of Iran" published in Phytotaxa, Volume (56), No (1), Year (2012-6) , Pages (28-34).  Can't get the whole article free, but here's a PDF preview, and a photo link:

Allium aladaghense, article (translated to English, poor translation):
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fa&u=http://vazeh.com/k-4509942-Allium%2520aladaghense&prev=/search%3Fq%3DAllium%2Baladaghense%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1350%26bih%3D538&sa=X&ei=N1RcUYi3EojB0QGCsoCoDg&ved=0CGIQ7gEwBw
Image:
http://cdn.yjc.ir/files/fa/news/1391/3/22/42595_132.jpg
PDF preview:
http://profdoc.um.ac.ir/pubs_files/p11028231.pdf

[McDonough]

Janis Ruksans has a new web site, just gleaned this fact from the SRGC.  Take a look at the Allium offerings, it makes me weep, I'd need to mortgage my house to afford all of the beauties I want. Oh, to be so afflicted with plant lust . Recognized leading expert on Allium, Dr. Reinhard Fritsch, visited Janis (last year I believe) and helped establish correct IDs on many of these rare offerings. I'm also surprised by just how many Western American species he is growing and offering; I have always found most of them very slow and difficult growers.
http://rarebulbs.lv/index.php/en/catalogue

[Fermi]

Janis Ruksans has a new web site, just gleaned this fact from the SRGC.  Take a look at the Allium offerings, it makes me weep, I'd need to mortgage my house to afford all of the beauties I want. http://rarebulbs.lv/index.php/en/catalogue

Mark,
at least you can buy directly from him!
We have to get someone with an import permit and a quarantine house to import for us and that's not easy!
At least we can look at the pics!
cheers
fermi

[Tony Willis]

two colour forms of Allium akaka I collected in Turkey and an unnamed species for Mark to work on.

[McDonough]

Sorry about the delay Tony, been ignoring the forum, busy at work, then also busy in the garden.

Your Allium akaka forms are wonderful, the first portrait is perfection, the drying leaf tips rolling back like an Ionic column:
http://www.njcu.edu/programs/jchistory/Images/B_Images/Barrow_Mansion/IonicColumnAS2002.jpg

I saw the suggestion on SRGC that the Allium sp. from Turkey might be "karputense", should be spelled Allium kharputense; it comes close to matching appearance, then another possibility comes to mind; Allium colchicifolium.

Being a bit more systematic about it, I used the Tubives resource again (Flora of Turkey) at:
http://turkherb.ibu.edu.tr/index.php

Then searched on the Kahramanmaraş province, it gives the following list of Allium native to that province, notice that neither kharputense nor colchicifolium are found in that province.

   Allium callidictyon
   Allium tchihatschewii
   Allium sivasicum
   Allium paniculatum ssp. paniculatum
   Allium pallens ssp. pallens
   Allium glumaceum
   Allium tauricola
   Allium brevicaule
   Allium macrochaetum ssp. macrochaetum
   Allium scorodoprasum ssp. rotundum
   Allium calyptratum
   Allium vineale
   Allium affine
   Allium cardiostemon
   Allium orientale
   Allium asclepiadeum

Of that list, the only two possibilities are A. orientale and asclepiadeum.  I think it comes closest to A. orientale, widespread in Turkey. The Taxonomic Allium Reference Collection at Gatersleben has three collections from Antalya Turkey, with white flowers, that look similar to your plant both for foliage and flowers.

[Tony Willis]

Mark

thanks for that reply and I think you may be right in A. orientale. I have to say it has not flourished and my recollection in the wild is of a much better more robust plant. It was in a very wet field which wolud be baked hard in summer and I do not have such conditions.

I love the A akaka which I collected myself in Eastern Turkey. In the wild the ones I saw were totally sessile and yet I have seen a picture in the wild looking just like mine. it must vary again with the conditions.