In the Republic of Moldova, less than 10 % of the territory has preserved the natural
vegetation cover. The destructive human activity and climate change have an increasingly
noticeable effect on the wild flora: the floristic composition of some coenoses, which have
been developing for centuries, is disrupted, and some species are extinct or migrate. The
decrease in species and population diversity indicates the loss of genetic material that is
potentially valuable for humanity. Therefore, among the scientific issues concerning the
protection, enrichment and use of the plant gene pool of any region, the introduction of plants
is of great importance. In this connection, one of the main tasks of the «Alexandru Ciubotaru»
National Botanical Garden (Institute) is the introduction, study, conservation and enrichment
of plant resources and the determination of the most appropriate ways of using them.
In the «Alexandru Ciubotaru» National Botanical Garden (Institute), large collections
of ornamental plants have been created and studied. Among the numerous plants of the
collections, the species of the genus Allium L. are of great interest, particularly because they
have a whole range potential uses – medicinal, food, melliferous and ornamental. They were
introduced from the collections of the Botanical Gardens of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus,
Romania, Germany, Hungary back in the 70s-90s of the last century. Now, there are 16
species of the genus Allium in the collection, and their detailed study was renewed in 2011. In
2020-2021, about 20 species of decorative alliums were received by Delectus Seminum from
Germany, Hungary, Poland, Russia and the Baltic countries and were added to our collection.
The purpose of our research has been to identify the adaptive and biological
characteristics of ornamental allium species and to determine the best ways of using them in
landscape design. The research was conducted on the experimental plot of the Laboratory of
Ornamental Plants, using the techniques developed by: Cheryomushkina (2004), Pavlova
(2010), The Methodology of Phenological Observations in the Botanical Gardens (1979).
The genus Allium L., (family – Amaryllidaceae) is one of the largest genera of the
subclass Liliidae of the monocotyledonous class. According to the data from literature, the
genus consists of 750-800 species (Stearn,1992; Hanelt, Fritsch,1994), occurring in the
Northern Hemisphere (Cheryomushkina, 2004). In Russia, there are about 200 species, and in
Moldova, there are about 15 species, 6 of which have been included in the Red Book (Negru,
2007; Pavlova, 2010).
The name of the genus comes from the ancient Celtic word «all», which means
«burning». Alliums are perennial herbaceous bulbous or rhizomatous plants. The species of
the genus Allium are characterized by the presence of modified stems: bulbs, rhizomes and
stolons (Cheryomushkina, 2004). Bulbs are ovoid or spherical, of various diameters, up to 12-
18 cm. The rhizomes in most species are compact, short, serving as nutrient supplies. The
stems are large – from 20-30 cm and up to 1,8 m in height. The leaves are basal, juicy,
tubular, with a specific aroma, up to 50 cm long, have phytoncidal properties. The
inflorescences are produced on scapes. The flowers are white, pink, purple, yellow, lilac or
violet, in umbel inflorescences of various shapes: spherical, hemispherical, bundle-like etc.
The seeds have an endosperm that occupies almost the entire volume of the seed and
surrounds the embryo on all sides (Cocoreva, 1998; Sorocoletova, Sorocopudova, 2004).
The diversity of habitats contributed to the development of special mechanisms in
plants that allow them to adapt to new conditions of existence and create stable
cenopopulations. The species of the genus Allium L. occur under various environmental
conditions. Their reaction to such factors as temperature, light and type of the substrate is still
uncertain. According to our observations, the alliums are undemanding and do not need
special care. However, for their successful cultivation, it is necessary to take into account the
biological characteristics of the plants and the growing conditions. They prefer sunny places,
but can tolerate partial shade, and some species even grow in the shade. They can grow in
almost any soil type, but they do not tolerate stagnant water, as the bulbs may rot. Most
alliums are drought tolerant and cold hardy. Alliums are usually propagated by vegetative
methods (by dividing the bulbs, by offsets (baby bulbs), by dividing the rhizomes, by aerial
bulbs). Also, alliums reproduce generatively, but this process is longer.
The research resulted in new data on the seasonal rates of development, morphological
characteristics, decorativeness and biological characteristics of the studied species. We
concluded that rhizomatous-bulbous species predominate in our collection, for example: A.
shoenosrasum L., A. odorum L., A. neapolitanum L., A. erubescens L., A. nutans L. etc., but 7
out of 16 are bulbous – A. sphaerocephalon L., A. giganteum Regel, A. aflatunense
B.Fedtsch., A. caerulum L., A. moly L., A. christophii Traunt., A. atropurpureum Waldst.et
Kit. The soil and climatic conditions of our country are favourable for the cultivation of all
species of allium. The best time for planting and transplanting alliums, in the Republic of
Moldova, is September-October. We determined the characteristics of the species of
ornamental alliums from our collections and the best ways of using them in landscape design.
Chives (A. schoenoprasum) is widespread in the northern hemisphere in meadows, in
river valleys, less often on rocky slopes. It grows up to 50 cm tall, produces lilac-pink
flowers, collected in a dense umbel inflorescence up to 5 cm in diameter. It blooms from mid-
May to mid-June, up to 25-30 days. The leaves are small, dark green, and they are edible. The
diameter of the bush is 20-25 cm. The bulbs are conical, about 1 cm in diameter, with dark
grey tunic scales, attached to a short horizontal rhizome. It can be used as a ground cover
plant, in borders, rabattes, flowerbeds, in rockeries and alpine gardens.
Neapolitan garlic (A. neapolitanum) grows in olive groves in the south of France and
Italy. The plant is 20-25 cm tall, sometimes up to 45 cm. The leaves are bright green, almost
recumbent. The inflorescence is hemispherical, the flowers are white with a honey-like aroma.
It blooms from mid-May to late June. It is recommended for creating flower spots, for flower
beds, rabattes, borders, rocky hills.
Blue ornamental onion (A.caeruleum) occurs in dry steppe areas in Siberia, Central
Asia and China. The plant height reaches up to 80 cm. It produces spherical umbel
inflorescences of blue, broad, bell-shaped flowers. The leaves are triangular, slightly
pubescent. The bulbs are ovoid, about 1 cm in diameter, the tunic scales are scarious, dense,
greyish-purple, edible. By the end of the growing season, the plants produce numerous «baby
bulbs». It blooms from mid-May to late June, for 2-3 weeks. The leaves developed in autumn
are preserved in winter, and then in the spring. This species looks great in group plantings,
mixborders and as cut flowers.
Round-headed garlic (A. sphaerocephalon) occurs naturally in the Mediterranean
Basin, Asia Minor and North Africa. It grows on sands, rocks, glades, dry steppes with sandyloam
soil. The plant height reaches 70-80 cm. The inflorescences are dense, globular umbels
with a diameter of 4 cm, with dark purple flowers. The flowers are small, bell-shaped. The
leaves are light green, semi-grooved, up to 25 cm long, semi-cylindrical. The bulbs are ovoid,
up to 1,5 cm in diameter, the tunic scales are leathery, brown, cracking. It blooms from the
first half of June to the end of July. This species is perfect for group plantings on an open
lawn or near shrubs in combination with other perennials and looks good as cut flowers.
Giant onion (A. giganteum) is native to mountainous areas of Central Asia. The scapes
(flower stems) are vigorous, up to 120 cm tall. The inflorescences are spherical, up to 8 cm in
diameter; the flowers are violet, 1.5 cm in diameter. It blooms in May, for 20-25 days. The
leaves are belt-shaped, glaucous, 4-10 cm wide, 40-50 cm long. After flowering, the leaves
turn yellow and dry off, they are edible. The bulbs are ovoid, with a diameter of 4-6 cm, tunic

scales are dark gray, leathery, cracking. It grows well in full sun, is suitable for group
plantings, as a colourful accent in mixborders, or as cut flowers for bouquets (the cut flowers
keep decorativeness for over 10 days).
Aflatun onion (A. aflatunense) was named after its habitat, Aflatun pass (Chatkal
Range in Kyrgyzstan). The scapes of the plants are vigorous, 80-100 cm tall. The
inflorescences are spherical, 4-6 cm in diameter, with star-shaped, purplish-pink flowers, 1.5-
1.8 cm in diameter, with a pungent smell. The bulbs are ovoid, up to 6 cm in diameter, the
tunic scales are light grey, scarious. The plants bloom in May-June. The species can be used
to decorate flower beds in combination with shorter plants, in open, sunny areas, in group
plantings; it is also suitable for use as cut flowers.
Persian onion (A. сristophii) occurs from desert foothills to the mountain-steppe belt
of Turkmenistan. It is an endemic species. The plants grow up to 50-60 cm tall. The
inflorescence is a showy umbel, 20-25 cm in diameter, spherical, loose, on long scapes, the
flowers are star-shaped, bright purple with a metallic sheen. The tepals are narrow, triangularpointy;
after drying, they become leathery and remain on the flower. The bulb is spherical, 2-
4 cm in diameter, the tunic scales are scarious, dark grey. The plants bloom from mid-May to
late June. The species is recommended for group plantings, mixborders, alpine gardens, it also
can be used as dried flowers.
Fragrant garlic (A. odorum) occurs in sunny steppes and meadows in Siberia, the Far
East, Mongolia, the Himalayas, in the north of China. The scapes grow 40-70 cm tall, with
hemispherical, multi-flowered inflorescences. The flowers are white with a greenish vein in
the centre of the tepals, stellate, gathered in an inflorescence of 7-8 cm in diameter, with
honey-like aroma. The leaves are narrowly linear, slightly shorter than the scape, almost do
not turn yellow during the growing season. The bulbs are narrow-conical, with a brown mesh
tunic, attached to the rhizome. The plants bloom from mid-August to October. They look
good in group plantings against a background of dark earth. The cut flowers are long-lasting.
Golden garlic (A. moly) occurs in humid areas and limestones from the plains to the
middle belt of the Mediterranean region of Europe. The bulb is ovate, 1,0-1,2 cm in diameter,
the tunic scales are scarious, light grey. The leaves are lanceolate, glaucous, 0,5-1,5 cm wide,
10 cm long. The scape is 10-16 cm tall. The flowers are bright yellow, star-shaped, 1,2-1,5 cm
in diameter, grouped by 5-9 in a flat, loose umbel inflorescence, 3,0-3,5 cm in diameter. This
species blooms in late May – early June, for 10-15 days.
The introduced species of decorative alliums, under the climatic conditions of
Moldova, are able to complete the full cycle of development, bloom and multiply, which
characterizes their stability. The Republic of Moldova is located in a zone of insufficient
moisture, and therefore these species of alliums are promising plants capable of maintaining
their ornamental qualities under conditions of insufficient moisture.
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