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Amaryllidaceae
Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
Humility, grace under pressure.
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Genus
- Allium
- Native to
- North America
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- Bulbous perennial
- Height
- 30–60 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun to part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 3–8
- Lifespan
- Long-lived bulb
Did you know
- Nodding onion is named for the way the flower stalk bends sharply downward at the top, so the flower clusters always nod toward the ground like little chandeliers.
- The bulbs and leaves smell strongly of onion when crushed and are completely edible — Native peoples used them as a food and seasoning across the continent.
- The city of Chicago is named after a related wild allium — the Algonquin word 'shikaakwa' means 'wild onion place', and these prairie onions once carpeted the Chicago River banks.
- Unlike most cultivated alliums, nodding onion holds its airy pink umbels gracefully in the garden and is much daintier than ornamental drumstick alliums.
- It's a vital nectar source for native bees, hover flies, and small butterflies in midsummer when prairie blooms peak.
Color meanings
Pink
Bowing beauty