Allium amethystinum Red Mohican

Allium amethystinum 'Red Mohican' is a truly unusual recent creation, distinguished by its quirky red "hairdo". This ornamental garlic produces a slightly fragrant, burgundy-red, round umbel in summer, curiously adorned with a crest of small dark red and white-cream flowers with long stalks. Its slender floral stem emerges from the folded foliage before quickly straightening up. Such a flowering display will not go unnoticed, whether in the garden or in bouquets. This bulbous plant is perennial in well-drained, light soils, in full sun, and tolerates summer drought well.

Allium 'Red Mohican' is a recent horticultural creation, derived from A. amethystinum, native to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Sicily, and Malta, and as far as Bulgaria and former Yugoslavia. This plant belongs to the Amaryllidaceae family, and develops from a single bulb. The inflorescences, perched at a height of 95cm (37in), form spherical umbels measuring up to 4cm (2in) in diameter. They are unusual in the small world of ornamental garlics. Made up of many flowers of a wine-red colour before they open, they have a tuft of different small flowers on top, carried by long petioles, forming an erect pompom-like structure. All the flowers open to a creamy-white colour, the same as the stamens and pistil of each flower, gradually overwhelming the barely open dark red tepals. This slightly fragrant flowering is carried by sturdy stems, of a purple hue, between June and July. The slightly villous medium green foliage consists of 4 to 6 basal, tubular leaves. The foliage turns yellow and disappears at the same time as the flowering, which is a good adaptation to hot and dry summer conditions.

Easy to grow, colourful, and sculptural, Allium 'Red Mohican' appreciates any type of moist but well-drained, light soil during its growing period. It prefers a sunny location. Used to add a unique touch to borders or flower beds, it can also be grown in pots to enjoy its beautiful flowering on a balcony or patio. Add its flowers, fresh or dried, to your bouquets. Plant it in groups of 5, tucked among ornamental grasses, behind low perennials, near roses, or yellow brooms. For a spectacular ornamental effect, pair them with boxwood trimmed into balls.

Small vegetable garden tip: plant a few ornamental garlics among strawberries to protect them from fungal diseases and add a few pleasant blooms that are sometimes missing among vegetables.