Allium Mount Everest

These snowball shaped umbels are made up of hundreds of white, star shaped flowers. The heads are slightly larger than your average grapefruit (up to 12cm) and they last for many weeks in the garden or a vase. They can even be dried.

Allium ‘Mount Everest’ is a hybrid of Allium stipitatum x A. aflatunense. It holds the prestigious RHS Award of Garden Merit for its vigour, so you know it is garden worthy.

Plant Allium ‘Mount Everest’ into well drained soil in a sunny position. The soil drainage is important as the bulbs rot easily if left in bog. Adding some lime and compost to the soil will give them a good start in the garden.

The grey-green leaves of Allium ‘Mount Everest’ emerge in early spring, long before the flowers and are quite handsome. It feeds the bulb with the spring rains and sunshine, then as the days warm, the flowers begin to grow and the foliage fades. As members of the onion , when the foliage is bruised, or crushed it smells just like onions.

They will need at least six hours of sun and a warm spot in the garden to thrive. As the stems of Allium ‘Mount Everest’ are tall, you should shelter them from strong winds because while they are strong there is only so much you can do and let’s face it they are expensive so it is best to get the most out of them. They are expensive because they are slow to multiply.

Plant Allium ‘Mount Everest’ to a depth of around 10-15cm or twice the diameter of the bulb. Once planted, the bulbs are best left to naturalise. This means you can relax and leave them in the ground year after year and just enjoy flowers as they rise. To help them on the way, add a well balanced fertiliser in summer with the new foliage.

Our Tip: Plant amongst summer perennials that emerge to keep the foliage hidden. As with most Alliums, the leaves begin yellow as the blooms take off. It is also a good idea to protect new foliage from slugs and snails (it emerges in spring). Also you want to keep them relatively dry during summer dormancy or ensure sharp drainage.

Supplied as: Bulbs