Exposure: Sun
Moisture: Moist – Dry
Max height: 1 ft
Growing ease: medium
Container tolerance: moderate
Attracts: Bees, butterflies
Uses: edible bulb, leaf
Clusters of pink or purple flowers hang downwards, giving rise to its name “nodding” onion. Blooms in June to July, and forms seed heads with papery covers that release small black seeds later in the summer. The bulb is often used as a flavourful food seasoning or vegetable to be eaten with other greens, and can also be added to meats and fish for taste. The stems as well as flowers have the onion-like taste and scent.
The flowers provide food for pollinators like indigenous bees and butterflies. It is also eaten by animals, the bulbs in the spring a snack for bears, elk, deer and squirrels. Host plant for hairstreak butterfly caterpillars.
