Happy Urban Dirt

One of the typical Spanish plants is Allium moly. Wait, you don’t know which one we’re talking about? Also known as golden garlic, moly garlic, chives, or Spanish garlic, it is a perennial plant.

If you want to learn more, here are the characteristics of this garlic species and the care you should give it to enjoy it in your garden (and eat it, by the way). Should we get started?

What does Allium moly look like?

As we have already mentioned, Allium moly is a plant typical of Spain, where it is widely cultivated, although in fact its origin is European. For example, in France it is protected due to the rarity of this plant, but not in Spain, where it can often be found in its natural habitat (rocky areas) or, if you obtain the plant or seeds, you can grow it in your own garden.

Although garlic is edible, it is usually treated as an ornamental plant.

It is a bulbous plant, no higher than 40 centimeters, consisting of a round bulb covered with a white layer. Its diameter usually does not exceed two centimeters. Its life cycle runs from September to June, meaning the hottest months are serene. For this reason, in winter it often begins to develop a stem with several leaves (often 2-3), immense and flat, blue-green in color. They can measure from 15 to 30 cm and be about 3 cm wide.

In addition to this stem, from March to June it usually produces one or more flower stalks 15 to 30 cm long, making the flowers taller than the plant itself. This way you will get a dozen flowers, yellow and star-shaped, with 6 one-centimeter sepals.

These flowers are very attractive to insects that pollinate them, which causes them to form egg-shaped capsules. When they open, you can get very miniature and black seeds.

Allium Moly Care

Now that you know some facts about Allium Moly, How about we support you grow and care for it in your garden? We’ve done the research and we’re leaving you the keys to making it happen.

location and temperature

As we said, Allium moly is grown from bulbs, which are typically planted in autumn and winter. They must be placed at least ten centimeters deep and, unlike the others, will go in groups. Where now?

It can be planted both in a pot and directly in the garden. As for delicate, partial shade is best, especially if you usually live in a temperate climate. But it adapts to full sun without any problems if the temperatures are not too high.

To give you an idea, in France it is planted in full sun, but in Spain Planting in partial shade is recommended due to the immense number of sunlight hours and their extent.

When it comes to temperature, although it should be taken into account that extreme heat slows down the growth of the plant (and for this reason it is left in the summer months to prevent deterioration), the same is not true for frigid. In fact, Withstands temperatures down to -29ºC.

Subsoil

Although Allium moly can be placed in any type of soil, if we were to recommend a specific one, it would be a soil with an acidic or alkaline pH (even neutral). For example, clay or sandy soil. Of course, you can operate one or the other, but it is critical to mix it with drainage, because the soil must be very delicate and loose.

Irrigation

Allium moly irrigation depends on many factors, including location, temperature, season… Generally speaking, all Allium moly species require a fairly soggy substratewhich you will need to water it depending on the season.

Of course, you shouldn’t water it in the summer because the bulbs will be dormant. In fact, it’s not uncommon for the plant to start losing its leaves and stems when the heat comes. At this point, you should stop watering so that the soiland the bulb dries out and may enter a dormant state.

From September onwards, you will need to water it at least once a week. However, you may not need to water it much in the winter if the environment is damp. In spring, watering frequency should be increased at the beginning and reduced mid-season.

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As for the bulb, it is normal that when it finishes its cycle and goes to sleep, it is taken out of the pot. That is whyIf you replant the plant, you will do so in a modern pot and with modern soil. This means there is no need to fertilize as the plant will have nutrients as long as it is planted.

However, if you do not remove the plant from the pot, then we recommend adding fertilizer to the irrigation water according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Multiplication

Finally, we want to talk to you about propagating Allium moly. In this case, you have two options, both equally good.

The first issue concerns the actual bulb you have. Over time, the bulbs often produce offshoots. At first, they will be very miniature and may not fit you. But once you see that they are large enough, you can separate them and plant them separately (yes, wait a few days for them to heal).

The best time to do this is when the bulbs are dormant, from June to August. At that time, remove them from the pot, pristine them as best you can, and store them in a gloomy, nippy place until the high temperatures pass.

Another option for propagating Allium moly is to operate seeds. Although this means waiting longer for the plants to grow, they can produce good results.

To do this, you need to harvest them from the stem and store them in the fridge until September comes around. Then you can plant them and hopefully some of them will sprout by spring (yes, it could take a few months for any of them to grow).

As you can see, Allium moly can be a good choice for growing in a garden or in a pot. Not only because of its usefulness (it is edible and you can eat both the bulb and the leaves), but also because of its beauty. How about trying it?