Allium tuberosum

Allium tuberosum: Late White Stars, Stir-Fry Ready

White starry flowers late in the season and flat leaves that taste like garlic, so the garden doubles as the spice cupboard. Garlic Chives are pretty, practical and keep the vampires guessing. BITE NOT INCLUDED.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Allium tuberosum
• Common Name: Garlic Chives, Chinese Chives
• Height: 45 cm (18 in)
• Spread: 60 cm (24 in)
• Flowers: Flat-topped clusters of small, white, star-shaped, lightly fragrant flowers. Edible.
• Bloom Time: Late summer to early fall (August to September)
• Foliage: Flat, grey-green, strap-like leaves with a mild garlic flavour
• Features: Edible leaves and flowers

Where to Plant: Grow it in a herb or vegetable garden, along the front of a sunny border, or in a container close to the kitchen so the leaves are easy to cut. Its white flowers brighten late-season plantings and pollinator gardens.

Companion Plants: Sedum SunSparkler® 'Plum Dazzled' stays low at the front with pink flowers from July to September. Agastache 'Blue Fortune' sits just behind with blue spikes through the same weeks the white flowers open. Helenium autumnale grows up to 150 cm with yellow flowers into October. The whole planting enjoys full sun.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in average, well-drained soil. Water regularly in the first season. After that it handles dry spells, though leaves stay more tender with steady moisture. Garlic chives seed themselves very freely. Cut off the flower heads as soon as the blooms fade, before seeds ripen, or you'll be pulling seedlings out of every crack. Harvest leaves often by cutting a few centimetres above the soil. Cut the clump back in late fall or early spring. Divide in spring every few years to keep it productive.

History: Allium tuberosum is native to China and the Himalayan region, where it has been grown as a kitchen herb for a very long time, and it remains a staple in Chinese, Korean and other Asian cooking. Its late, white flowers also earned it a place in ornamental gardens.

Final Thoughts: Snip the leaves for stir fries and leave the flowers for the bees and butterflies. Deer skip it, you won't. DINNER AND A SHOW.