Hi everyone,

This year, I planted several purple sensation bulbs and they've all come up quite nicely. However, in two of the flower heads, there is this strange white swollen-ish thing that looks like a corm. I can't seem to find anything online about it--does anyone know what this is, and whether it's some type of problem? It certainly isn't attractive and it impedes the flower's ability to form the typical globe.

Those Vegetative apomixis are common in some allium as in walking alium/egyptian alium and garlic, but this is the first time I heard in ornamental alium, how ever I think that is weirdy beautiful.....

tofitropic said:Those Vegetative apomixis are common in some allium as in walking alium/egyptian alium and garlic, but this is the first time I heard in ornamental alium, how ever I think that is weirdy beautiful.....

They are hard to the touch, cool, and shiny like pearls. Yes, weirdly beautiful. Do they serve a purpose?

Very glad you've ID'ed them for me--

It serves as a vegetative propagation tool, so actually it is a bulb, (bulbils/bulblets) once the flower died off, it will detach and when condition appropriate becoming small plant.
Since it is vegetative, it will be identical to mother plant, and it get mature faster than seed without needing fertilization, seed development and first year seedling development process, this apomixis somewhat give certain beneficial to the plant, and though to be one of key-off-success used by A. canadense var. canadense.

Tofi, thank you very much for your explanation! So I will leave them where they are, and when they're ready, I'll stick them in the soil so that I'll have more of these interesting and beautiful plants.

it is a bublet, but why it appeared on your Purple Sensations I am not sure. Plant them not too deep when allium flowers dry. Certainly faster than seeds. I guess weird weather.

Thanks Alex, they do look like corms.

joannakat said:Tofi, thank you very much for your explanation! So I will leave them where they are, and when they're ready, I'll stick them in the soil so that I'll have more of these interesting and beautiful plants.

Thank you for sharing this too, Ahh... . it will be great to have that plant, I love regular plants, but wonky-weirdo has a special place for me,... why only having regular when your garden can be spiced with wow...right ... I believe many gardeners would want it too... Too bad, Allium hollandicum didn't work well in tropic... I tried to no avail,... but I do keep weirdos whenever I can get one here too..

Oh, well, in that case, here is Allium Globemaster, due to bloom more toward summer. The purple flower is supposed to grow to the size of a human head!

I completely agree with you about strange and beautiful plants!

That will be huge and fantastic.

One of my Purple Sensation allium did the same this spring , first time it does that in over 5 years . It produced a bunch of aerial bulbils on it's flower head

One of my Purple Sensation allium did the same this spring , first time it does that in over 5 years . It produced a bunch of aerial bulbils on it's flower head