Description
This is an odd, late-summer, July-August, flowering Allium species, endemic to the high mountains of the very south eastern corner of Turkey. This stock is traceable to the type locality, which is Guzeledre (Czug Pass).
Allium microspathum develops its leaves and its scapes in spring, but the flowers open months later, long after leaves have dried off and died. The flowers are small, starry and are a very deep and intense yellow with 10-20 compactly packed into a tight umbel, which is held on a thin, 10-15 cm tall stem.
This species is well suited to pot cultivation but the cultivator does need reminding that despite any enthusiasm to see the flowers, you do need to refrain from watering between bud development in spring and mid or late summer. In this time, soil watering must be kept minimal since this plant sits “in bud” for some months, long after the foliage dries. The long leaf sheaths naturally protect the still-developing stem from excessive evaporation in the wild. In cultivation it is essential that you do not “clean up” the plants after their growth dies down in spring, or you will also remove the new flowers. Those of you already familiar with Allium callimischon will already have come across this strategy, which enable a plant to flower as soon as late summer or autumn rains fall, without the need to grow and develop flower buds then.
First introduced to our lists in July 2016 and I doubt, this has ever been commercialised prior to this.
