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Amaryllidaceae FAMILY

Allium cristophii

Allium cristophii

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

Although no individual reports regarding this species have been seen, there have been cases of poisoning caused by the consumption, in large quantities and by some mammals, of certain members of this genus. Dogs seem to be particularly susceptible[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitBulb
Growth—

Allium cristophii is a plant of semi-arid areas in central and eastern Asia, and can tolerate cold winters with temperatures going down to between -5 and -10°c or even lower. However, it requires a dry period in the summer and autumn when it is dormant and so, even in very freely-draining soils, may not do very well outdoors in areas with high rainfall, especially in summer and autumn. In such areas it is best grown in a cold greenhouse or bulb frame, though it might be sufficient to simply place a cloche over the plant after it has flowered and then remove it when new growth appears in spring[2, PFAF]. Prefers a sunny position in a light well-drained dry to moist soil[3]. Plants are easy to grow in a hot, dry spot, but they tend to rot in areas of high rainfall unless the soil is very freely draining[2]. The bulbs should be planted fairly deeply[3]. Most members of this genus are intolerant of competition from other growing plants[2].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle - if you want to produce clumps more quickly then put three plants in each pot. Grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter and plant them out into their permanent positions in spring once they are growing vigorously and are large enough. Division in spring. The plants divide successfully at any time in the growing season, pot up the divisions in a cold frame or greenhouse until they are growing well and then plant them out into their permanent positions. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Allium+cristophii>

Pollinators

Bees, Insects

References

  1. [1]Poisonous Plants in Britain and their Effects on Animals and Man. — Cooper. M. and Johnson. A. · HMSO · 1984 · ISBN 0112425291 ↩︎Concentrates mainly on the effects of poisonous plants to livestock.
  2. [2]Alliums. The Ornamental Onions. — Davies. D. · Batsford · 1992 · ISBN 0-7134-7030-5 ↩︎Covers about 200 species of Alliums. A very short section on their uses, good details of their cultivation needs.
  3. [3]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  4. [4]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  5. [5]Flora of Turkey. — Davis. P. H. · Edinburgh University Press · 1965 · ISBN - ↩︎Not for the casual reader, this is an immense work in many volumes. Some details of plant uses and habitats.
  6. [6]Companion Planting for Successful Gardening. — Riotte. L. · Garden Way, Vermont, USA. · 1978 · ISBN 0-88266-064-0 ↩︎Fairly good.
  7. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎