Allium enjoys a high degree of well-earned popularity, its great diversity in flower shape, size colour and application is unprecedented. A flood of new cultivars is unstoppable. The genus Allium probably already includes more than 1,000 species and cultivars and is spread across the Northern Hemisphere, Central Asia, as well as the countries around the Mediterranean and western North America are important growing areas. In the Netherlands, we also know some feral species such as badger garlic, sage garlic and snake garlic. Many species, both the original - as well as the cultivated - alliums have a bulb underground, which can reach a circumference of about 3 cm to as much as 40 cm, depending on the species. Other species, including some herbs and vegetables, have a thickened root underground, also called a 'shaft'. The small-spherical alliums, as well as those that form a thickened root, are very suitable for naturalising. The large-spherical alliums can remain in the ground for several years. How long depends on the type of soil. On a permeable sandy soil, the ornamental onions last the longest, although the flowers get smaller over the years. If you are no longer satisfied with the size of the flowers, the bulbs can be uprooted after flowering. The storage temperature is around 23-25 degrees. They can be planted again in November, preferably in a different spot because of possible germs.