If you're afraid of the expense of getting new bulbs of ornamental garlic or constantly buying new packets of seeds, you can simply propagate them with your own hands without having to buy anything - except perhaps sowing soil. Read how to do this below!
How can you propagate ornamental garlic?
Ornamental onions can be propagated by breeding onions by separating them from the mother onion in autumn and planting them in a new location. Alternatively, you can sow the seeds of the ornamental onion, but this method takes longer and is more complex.
Spring Bulbs: Hidden in the ground waiting to be planted
The ornamental onion, like many other allium plants, produces bulbs. With the help of this, the plant can be propagated in a targeted manner. The breeding bulbs are usually located in the ground and immediately next to the mother bulb. Some species also produce their bulbs on the surface.
First you have to get the onions out of the ground. It's best to do this in the fall after you've cut the plant down beforehand. Use a spade (€29.00 on Amazon) to pry the mother bulb out of the ground.
The breeding onions usually attach to the mother onion. They emerged over the summer. For propagation it is important that these bulbs are plump, white and firm. Simply separate the breeding bulbs from the mother bulb.
Transplant to a new location
Now the onions are transplanted to another location. Please note the following:
- sunny to semi-shady location
- permeable, loose, nutrient-rich soil
- Distance of at least 15 cm
- Planting depth: 10 to 15 cm
- insert with the tip up and the roots down
Growing the seeds for sowing
The seeds of the ornamental onion are small, black, smooth, slightly shiny and irregularly shaped. They look like the seeds of normal vegetable onions. Sowing is generally not very common because it is much more complex than propagation using onions.
Disadvantages of this method
The disadvantage of this method is that it takes a long time for the seeds to develop into large plants with strong bulbs. In addition, if you are unlucky, it will take longer than 3 months for the seeds to germinate. They are cold germinators. It also takes 2 to 3 years for the first flowering.
Sowing procedure
First, the seeds need a warm and moist period. For this you can e.g. B. harvest in late summer and place in a glass bowl wrapped in damp kitchen paper. After about 4 weeks, the seeds and the kitchen paper are placed in the refrigerator. After waiting 6 to 8 weeks, the seeds are sown normally in seed soil.
Self-sowing: just leave the flowers there
It is not uncommon for the hardy ornamental garlic to sow itself without any action. To do this, you should leave the dead flower stalks standing in the summer. The seeds overwinter on the ground and germinate in spring.
Tip
You don't have to sow the seeds immediately once you've collected them. They can also be stored in the refrigerator until next spring. There they retain their ability to germinate well.
