Allium flower bulbs, choosing, buying and planting

Climate and soil
Alliums are a cool season crop. They need long day photoperiod for bulb formation and flowering. They require 210c for seed germination and 13-18 0c for vegetative growth. They grow well under mild climate without extreme heat or cold. Excessive rainfall may cause rotting problem.

Soil required for Alliums
They can be grown on all type of soil but perform well in deep friable loam and alluvial soil having pH 6-7. They prefer well drained soil with presence of high organic matter and potash which favours production of good quality crop. Alkaline or marshy land is not suitable for Allium cultivation.

Alliums are propagated by dormant bulbs or seeds. Bulbs selected for plantation should be disease free, healthy and properly forced. If alliums are propagated from seeds, they should be bold, viable and having good germination percentage. Bulbs of commercial size range from 5-6 cm to11-12 cm (in circumference) depending upon species.

Planting Alliums
Alliums prefer sunny site. Before planting, soil should be mixed with well rotten farm yard manure and Bone meal. Depth and spacing of plants depend on bulb species, size of bulbs and the spherical size of umbels. Species with large globose umbel need more space during planting i.e. up to 30 cm apart while smaller bulbs are planted 5-6 cm apart. Prior to planting, bulbs require precooling treatment at 5 0c for 8-10 weeks.

Alliums propagated through seeds should be first raised in the nursery beds. A nursery bed of 3mx0.6 m size with 15-25 cm height is ideal. Generally sandy loam soil is preferred for nursery beds. Seeds are sown in lines 4-7 cm apart at a depth of 2-3 cm. After sowing, seeds should be covered with fine, sieved & well decomposed farm yard manure or compost up to 2-3 cm. Beds are mulched with dry grass or straw to maintain the required soil moisture. After germination, dry grasses or other mulching materials should be removed. Seedlings are ready for transplanting after 6-9 weeks of sowing. Ideal height for transplanting the seedlings is 20-25 cm. Seedlings should be transplanted at right stage, otherwise overage seedlings result in bolting, taking longer time to initiate new growth, whereas underage seedlings do not establish well. Seeds can also be germinated in 10inch pots, in which 12-18 seedlings can be raised. Later they can be transferred to other pots. Before sowing the seeds and bulbs, it should be treated with Captaf/Captan (0.2%) or Bavistin (0.2%) to prevent any fungal infection.

Season and cycle of Allium flower bulbs
Most of the Allium bulbs are planted in autumn (Oct-Nov) so that they can attain peak flowering during next spring (February). The majority of short stemmed bulbs flower during spring but some species also flower in mid –summer. Species like A.cepa and A.sativum can be planted twice a year i.e. once in March- April & then in October-November.

Growing period of Allium flowers
There are some perennial species that can be kept for a few years in bed until the plants become crowded. Each flowerhead lasts about 2-4 weeks depending upon different climatic conditions and species. Alliums normally take 8months from planting to bulb harvesting.