Allium….not just a Spring bulb!

Looking for a great perennial border plant? Check out Allium millennium! As you may have guessed from its picture this is a ornamental onion plant that is related to the whimsical spring blooming Allium bulb. This mid-late summer perennial bloomer puts on a beautiful purple display starting in mid-July. The tidy grass-like foliage stands about 12″ tall with the purple blooms at about 18″. It has proven to be fairly drought tolerant and the honey bees are loving them too!

Happy Gardening!

Extending Hydrangea’s Bloom Season

I have been doing an experiment the past few seasons to extend or delay my Hydrangea tree’s bloom time. In the picture below, the bottom half of the tree was pruned back the 3rd week in June while the top half was pruned back the 2nd week in July. In turn this pushes the bloom time back. The rule of thumb is that this can be done on the Panicle or Annabelle Hydrangeas. Do not prune back traditional macrophylla Hydrangeas and expect blooms the same year (although some new hybrids allow this).

Another benefit to pruning the stems back by 1/2 the length, is that the shorter stems have less tendency to bend which allows the flowers stay vertical (which I prefer).

So  if you’re looking to time Hydrangea blooms for a party or to just extend the blooming season in your garden, don’t be scared to cut Hydrangeas back early in the season.

Happy Gardening!

Bottom half pruned 3rd week in June. And bloomed mid-August. Top half pruned 2nd week in July and bloomed early September. Photo taken mid-October.