(Colicroot, Golden Colicroot)

With a tall, fleeting flower stem carrying bright golden yellow blossoms, the golden colicroot is also ornamental thanks to its foliage rosette. This herbaceous perennial is native to the American Southeast, from the District of Columbia to easternmost Texas and northern Florida. It naturally grows in pinelands, bogs, ditches and prairies.

The leaves arise from the ground to create a basal rosette of attractive light green leaves. Leaf blades are narrow, pointed lances with parallel veins, revealing...

(Colicroot, Unicorn Root, White Colicroot)

A white flower spike that looks like a unicorn's horn jutting up from the ground is a highlight of the white colicroot. This herbaceous perennial is native to the eastern United States and Ontario, Canada. It grows in moist peaty, gravelly or sandy habitats around the southern Great Lakes or from eastern Texas up to New England on the eastern side of the Appalachians. It naturally grows in pinelands, bogs, ditches and wet grasslands. Up until the 19th century, roots of colicroot plants were dug up...

(Colicroot, Yellow Colicroot)

An ankle- to shin-high flower stem carrying bright yellow blossoms above a foliage rosette is indicating of the yellow colicroot. This herbaceous perennial is native to the American Southeast, from Savannah, Georgia to New Orleans and south to the Florida Keys. It naturally grows in pinelands, bogs, wet ditches and seasonally flooded prairies.

The leaves arise from the ground to create a basal rosette of attractive light green leaves. Leaf blades are narrow, pointed lances with parallel veins,...

(Colicroot, Southern Colicroot)

A rather diminutive rosette of bright green leaves is overlooked until the southern colicroot produces a tall flower stem by late spring. This herbaceous perennial is native to the American Southeast, from southernmost Mississippi to northern Florida's and southern Georgia's Atlantic coast. It naturally grows in moist pinelands, damp grasslands and roadside ditches. Up until the 19th century, roots of these plants were dug up and used as medicine to treat colic.

The leaves arise from the ground...

(Colicroot)

A weed-like rosette of bright green leaves is overlooked until the colicroot produces a wiry flower stem in spring. This herbaceous perennial is native to the American Southeast's coastal plain, a naturally occurring hybrid between the southern colicroot (Aletris obovata) and yellow colicroot (Aletris lutea) where their natural ranges overlap. It naturally grows in moist pinelands, damp grasslands and roadside ditches. Up until the 19th century, roots of these plants were dug up...

(Beau Regard Ornamental Onion, Ornamental Onion)

This excellent allium hybrid displays enormous, rosy-purple flower clusters on tall, sturdy stems in late spring to early summer. Its starry, individual florets are packed densely in rounded globes that can be as large as 8 inches (20 centimeters) in diameter, adding instant drama to mixed beds and borders. They rise from low rosettes of bold, strappy, deep green leaves that remain attractive while the plants are in flower, unlike those of many other alliums.

In autumn, plant the bulbs of ‘Beau...

(Firmament Ornamental Onion, Ornamental Onion)

This gorgeous ornamental allium graces the garden with globes of starry, silvery-purple blossoms in late spring. The rounded, softball-sized flower clusters are borne on sturdy, slender stems which rise above strappy, deep green basal leaves that emerge in spring and fade as the plants bloom.

In autumn, plant the bulbs of ‘Firmament’ in fertile, well-drained soil at a depth of two to three times their diameter. Full sun is essential, and dryish summer conditions are preferable. Plant in small...

(Gladiator Ornamental Onion, Ornamental Onion)

A hybrid of two large-flowered Central Asian alliums, ‘Gladiator’ is a bulbous perennial grown for its huge globes of starry, metallic purple, green-eyed flowers displayed in late spring to early summer. The dense, rounded flower clusters are borne singly atop tall, sturdy, bare stems which rise above deep green, broadly sword-shaped basal leaves that emerge and spring and wither as the blossoms appear.

In autumn, plant the bulbs of ‘Gladiator’ in fertile, well-drained soil at a depth of two...

(Globemaster Ornamental Onion, Ornamental Onion)

For many, ‘Globemaster’ is the standard against which all other ornamental alliums are judged. The gigantic, rounded, lavender-purple flowerheads of this hybrid are composed of small, starry, densely packed florets, and can approach the size of a volleyball. Appearing in late spring, they are borne singly on tall, sturdy stems which rise above bold, strappy, deep green basal leaves that appear in spring and fade as the plants bloom.

In autumn, plant the bulbs of ‘Globemaster’ in fertile, well-drained...

(Lucy Ball Ornamental Onion, Ornamental Onion)

This attractive hybrid allium decorates the late spring to early summer garden with dense spheres of rich rosy-purple flowers. The rounded flowerheads are composed of many small, starry, individual florets, and are approximately 6 inches (15 centimeters) in diameter. They are borne on tall, strong stems which rise above strappy, green basal leaves that emerge in spring and fade as the plants bloom.

In autumn, plant the bulbs of ‘Lucy Ball’ in fertile, well-drained soil at a depth of two to...