perennial

Ivory Queen Ornamental Onion

Allium karataviense 'Ivory Queen'

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Ivory Queen Ornamental Onion (Allium karataviense 'Ivory Queen') at Lurvey Garden Center

Ivory Queen Ornamental Onion in bloom

Ivory Queen Ornamental Onion in bloom

(Photo courtesy of NetPS Plant Finder)

Plant Height:  6 inches

Flower Height:  10 inches

Spread:  10 inches

Sunlight:  full sun 

Hardiness Zone:  4

Other Names:  Flowering Onion

Description:

Beautiful white globe flowers emerge from strappy blue-green foliage in mid to late spring; attracts butterflies; plant close together for an impressive massed effect

Ornamental Features

Ivory Queen Ornamental Onion features bold balls of lightly-scented white flowers rising above the foliage from mid to late spring. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its fragrant sword-like leaves remain bluish-green in color throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Ivory Queen Ornamental Onion is an open herbaceous perennial with tall flower stalks held atop a low mound of foliage. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Ivory Queen Ornamental Onion is recommended for the following landscape applications;

  • Mass Planting
  • Rock/Alpine Gardens
  • Border Edging
  • General Garden Use
  • Groundcover

Planting & Growing

Ivory Queen Ornamental Onion will grow to be only 6 inches tall at maturity extending to 10 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 10 inches. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 5 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant should only be grown in full sunlight. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

 
 
Hardiness Zone Plant Height Minimum Sunlight
Characteristics
Massing  Rock  Edging  Garden  Groundcover 
Applications
Flowers  Texture  Plant Form  Attracts Wildlife 
Ornamental Features