German garlic, also known as broad-leaved chives, is a beautiful perennial adding a long season of interest to the landscape. Dense, round clusters of lavender-pink flowers appear above the deep green, glossy foliage mid-summer, lasting long into the season. It is tolerant of drought, hot weather, rabbits, and deer.
Size and Form:
German garlic is a clump-forming perennial that reaches 18 to 24 inches high.
Native geographic location and habitat:
It is native to Europe and northern Asia.
Attracts birds and pollinators:
German garlic attracts butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.
Leaf description:
Its leaves are clump-forming, medium green, 1/2 inch wide, and strap-like, growing up to 12 inches long.
Flower arrangement size and shape:
German garlic has dense, globular flower clusters of lavender-pink flowers that appear mid-summer and last until fall.
Fruit, cone, nut, and seed descriptions:
It has capsules of small black seeds.
Plant Care:
This is a bulb that is often purchased as a plant. It grows best in full sun to part shade in well-drained soil. The dried flower heads add structural elements to the winter garden, but can be removed to tidy up the plant.
List of pests and diseases:
There aren’t any serious pests or diseases, although it is not tolerant of wet soils.
Blue broad-leaved Chives (Allium senescens subsp. montanum var. glauca):
Also called curly chives, this plant grows 6 to 12 inches high and 12 to 18 inches wide. It has neat rounded tufts of short, flattened but twisted, blue-green foliage and lavender-pink flowers.
Summer Beauty German Garlic (Allium senescens subsp. montanum ‘Summer Beauty’):
This cultivar is 18 to 24 inches high and 12 to 18 inches wide. It has gray-green twisted foliage and pink flowers.
Summer Peek a Boo German Garlic (Allium senescens subsp. montanum ‘Summer Peek a Boo’):
It is 8 to 12 inches high with a compact habit and rounded lavender-purple flower clusters. It is a sport of Summer Beauty German Garlic.
