Find a plant:


{name}

OR Browse All Plants


Allium cernuum (Nodding onion)

Allium cernuum Photo/Illustration: Mark McDonough



Be the first to rate this plant

Botanical Name: Allium cernuum Common Name: Nodding onion Genus: Allium
This plant produces open clusters of pinkish purple, droplet-shaped flowers along drooping, arching 2-foot-tall stems. Its foliage is bluish green.
 Noteworthy characteristics: The most remarkable feature of the nodding onion is its adaptability. It will grow in almost any situation, from full sun to deep shade.
 Care: Best grown in full sun and dry to medium, well-drained soil. Tolerates shade as well, especially in hot climates. 
 Propagation: Sow seed in spring in containers or in situ. Divide clump-forming plants in spring.
 Problems: Bulb rot in damp conditions. Onion fly and thrips.
Height 1 ft. to 3 ft.
Light Full Sun to Part Shade
Tolerance Deer Tolerant
Characteristics Attracts Butterflies; Attracts Hummingbirds; Native
Bloom Time Summer
Flower Color Pink Flower; Purple/ Lavender Flower
Uses Beds and Borders, Naturalizing
Style Rock Garden
Seasonal Interest Summer Interest, Fall Interest
Type Perennials

Plants you might also like

Salvia greggii Salvia greggii
(Autumn sage) (3 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This native of Texas and Mexico has a woody base and can form a dwarf, evergreen shrub, 1 foot tall by 1 foot wide. It has small, leathery leaves and bears bright flowers in shades of pink, purple, or yellow from early summer to frost.
Salvia nemorosa
(Sage) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This drought-tolerant perennial produces flower spikes in shades of violet, purple, or white to pink, with purple bracts. It blooms from early summer to autumn; reblooming is most reliable if spent flowers are promptly deadheaded. It has wrinkled leaves and forms an erect clump 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide. This species is most noted for its many S. sylvestris hybrids.
Agastache rupestris Agastache rupestris
(Sunset hyssop) (1 user review)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

True to its name, sunset hyssop encapsulates a Western sunset in its flowers: bronze with hints of orange and yellow, and streaks of magenta and pink along the margins. More and more flowers emerge as summer progresses. The plant blooms heavily in August, and continues into autumn.
Salvia coccinea Salvia coccinea
(Texas sage, Hummingbird sage) Be the first to rate this plant
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This upright tender perennial provides rich color for annual bedding schemes where it is not hardy. Its deep red flowers are borne on 2- to 2.5- foot, open spikes from summer to autumn. Plants grow to about a foot wide and bear hairy, oval to heart-shaped leaves. Salvias are some of the showiest plants for containers, annual borders, and mixed borders. Butterflies and hummingbirds love them.
Echinacea purpurea 'Kim's Knee High' Echinacea purpurea 'Kim's Knee High'
(Purple coneflower) (3 user reviews)
Hardiness Zones: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

This native meadow derivative is a compact version of the species. It blooms from midsummer into early autumn, with prominent, copper-orange central cones surrounded by drooping, rose- or purple-pink ray petals. It will reach 24 inches if not cut back.