Pacific onion
Allium validum · Liliaceae
Pacific onion (Allium validum) is a perennial herbaceous plant in the Liliaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 5 and warmer, down to about -18°F.
At a glance
| Type | forb-herb USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 2 ft USDA |
| Light | part-shade USDA |
| Water need | high USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 6.2–8 USDA |
| Bloom | May–June USDA |
| Flower color | Purple USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 5 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | herb-layer Derived |
| Nursery availability | Contracting Only USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It grows in partial shade. USDA rates it as having needs consistently moist ground. Its drought tolerance is rated low. It tolerates saturated, poorly drained ground well (USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance high). It is recorded on soils from pH 6.2 to 8 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 5.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 2 ft, making it about knee height. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are purple.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is green, medium in texture. Its flowers are conspicuous. Its fruit or seed heads are conspicuous, extending interest past flowering. Its active growth period is summer. USDA rates its lifespan as short, so plan on replacing or resowing it rather than treating it as permanent structure.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 12 to 40 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 130 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 8 inches. Fertility requirement: medium.
Propagating it
Propagate it from seed and bulbs. USDA records no cold-stratification requirement, so seed should germinate without a chilling period. Its seed spreads at a slow rate. It spreads vegetatively at a slow rate.
Resilience and wildlife
Its fire tolerance is rated high. Its growth form is recorded as multiple stem.
Role in a guild
Herb layer. In a layered planting this is the herbaceous middle — perennials and grasses that fill the space between ground cover and shrubs. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Others in Allium
- tapertip onion Allium acuminatum
- Douglas' onion Allium douglasii
- textile onion Allium textile
- Tolmie's onion Allium tolmiei
Similar role and hardiness
- Lyall's angelica Angelica arguta
- broomsedge bluestem Andropogon virginicus
- Columbian sedge Carex aperta
- prickly bog sedge Carex atlantica
- Short's sedge Carex shortiana
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol ALVA, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, Edible, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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