Allium siculum (Sicilian honey garlic)

Japanese name: アリウム シクルム
Scientific name: Allium siculum

[Overview]
A perennial that forms a bulb underground.
When the stem or leaves are damaged, they give off a garlic-like smell.
The leaves are basal, flat and strap-like, spirally twisted, and tinged with bluish gray.
A flower stalk 0.8–1.2 m tall stands erect and bears an umbel at the tip.
The inflorescence is at first enclosed in bracts.
The flower has 6 tepals that open in a bell shape, and hangs down on a long flower stalk.
The tepals are red to reddish brown on the inside with a yellow to white margin, and have green stripes on the outside.
The fruit is a conical capsule that stands erect.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed or by dividing the bulbs; when grown from seed, it takes several years from sowing to flowering.
It dislikes acidic soil.
It prefers well-drained soil, and a site in sun to partial shade that avoids strong afternoon sun is suitable.
Take care that the soil does not become extremely dry, and during the growing period water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
Apply base fertilizer, and from spring until flowering give liquid fertilizer once every 2 weeks.
The flower stalks stand up, so plant in a place sheltered from strong wind or set up stakes.
If you are not collecting seed, cut the flower stalk at the base after the flowers finish so that the plant does not become exhausted.
When the leaves begin to wither, dig up the bulbs and store them in shade with good ventilation.
If the site is sunny and well drained, pests and diseases rarely occur.

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