Sun Exposure: Sun - Part Sun
Soil Moisture: Medium-Wet, Medium, Medium-Dry
Soil Type: Sand, Loam, Clay
Height: 1-2 feet
Spread: 1 foot
Blooms: July, August
Root: Bulb
Habitat: Meadows, Prairies
Landscape uses: Garden borders. Pollinator gardens, Deer and Rabbit resistant
Complimentary Plants: Butterfly Milkweed, Harebell, Black-eyed Susan
Wildlife Value: The nectar and pollen of the nodding flowers attract primarily bees, including honeybees, bumblebees, Anthophorine bees (Anthophora spp.), and Halictid bees (Lasioglossum spp.)
Seed Origin: Sudbury, Ontario (Northern Wildflowers seed supplier)
Germination Code: C(60)
Photo credits: #1 by Fritzflohrreynolds, #2 by Fritzflohrreynolds, #3 by George F Mayfield, #5/6/7 by Sundaura Alford-Purvis
Allium cernuum - Nodding Onion
This plant is easy to identify because of the nodding habit of its umbels of flowers. Nodding umbels of flowers are an evolutionary adaptation that tends to restrict insect visitors to bees. Other insects are more reluctant to hang upside down while attempting to feed on nectar or pollen. The nodding habit may also protect the nectar from rain.