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Red Sierra onion

Allium obtusum

Also called Subalpine Onion

Red Sierra onion
Photo: tomhilton, CC BY 2.0

Red Sierra onion is a small, bulbous wild onion from California and Nevada's granite foothills and mountains, grown for its compact umbels of pink to purple flowers. The key to growing it is sharp drainage and a dry summer rest, mimicking its native mountain habitat.

Family
Amaryllidaceae (Daffodil & onion family)
Grows as
Bulb
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water moderately while in active growth in spring, then keep nearly dry during summer dormancy.
Soil
Gritty, free-draining mix such as sandy loam or a bulb mix with added grit.
Temperature
Hardy to around -15 °C when dormant; prefers cool summers, struggles in prolonged heat above about 30 °C.
How easy
Easy
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
California to W. Nevada
Climate
temperate

About

Allium obtusum is a species of wild onion known by the common name red Sierra onion or subalpine onion. It is native to eastern California and western Nevada. It is a common plant in the granite foothills and mountains of the Sierra Nevada and southern Cascade Range, from Tulare County to Siskiyou County, from elevations of 800 to 3,500 metres (2,600 to 11,500 ft). In Nevada, it is reported only from Washoe County in the northwestern part of the state.

Other Allium plants

South Idaho onion · Abrams' allium · Allium aciphyllum · Tapertip onion · Allium aeginiense · Allium aflatunense · Allium agrigentinum · Allium alabasicum · Allium albotunicatum · Allium alibile · Altai Onion · Allium altissimum

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Allium obtusum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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