Allium Millenium

Expect these merry rosy-lavender flowerheads, arising by the dozen, to last for a month or more! Allium ‘Millenium’ is a splendid late-summer allium, ready to pop up and deliver outstanding color just when much of the sunny border is giving up its show for the season. No wonder it’s been named the 2018 Perennial Plant of the Year!

You can’t do wrong by tucking Allium ‘Millenium’ among early-summer-blooming perennials and bulbs, slipping it into containers for the patio, and wedging it along pathways and other heavily trafficked spots. It delivers carefree, unexpected color just when you need it most!

The flowerheads are perfectly round and reach about 2 inches in diameter, studded on all sides with purple florets tinged with red. Like all allium, Allium ‘Millenium’ has a scent (it’s an onion, after all!), which keeps away nibbling rabbits, deer, and other creatures of the night. On the other hand, butterflies and bees find the blooms enticing, so you’ll likely attract some “mobile color” when they come to visit the flowers!

This ornamental onion reaches about a foot high and wide, with a dense bouquet of dark green stems topped by bobbing blooms. Unlike older varieties, Allium ‘Millenium’ won’t scatter seed all over the garden to be weeded out by you next spring; it concentrates all its energy on setting flowers instead of going to seed, and the results are magnificent!

Allium ‘Millenium’ is a good choice for the vegetable patch and herb garden as well as more traditional “ornamental” locations. It keeps pests at bay, offers nice color, and brings in “good bugs” such as bees. Just give it plenty of sunshine, well-drained soil on the light side, and wait for the flowers! They make good cuts for the vase, too.

Bred by plantsman Mark McDonough, ‘Millenium’ is a truly carefree Allium that delights with profuse flowers, long bloomtime, and late season. Make it part of your garden! Zones 5-8.