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Nectaroscordum siculum ssp. bulgaricum |
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| Synonym(s) |
Allium bulgaricum |
| Common name |
Sicilian honey lily |
| Family |
alliaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial bulb (Z5-10) |
| Flowers |
purple (late spring) |
| Size |
4' |
| Light |
sun-part shade |
Reminds us of some fritillaries, with its dusky purple pendant flowers on tall stalks. Makes quite a voluminous mass of strappy leaves in spring. Ours grow in the raised bed within our side garden.
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This plant used to grow in our garden, but it slipped away... About my plant portraits
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Etka | Jul 22, 2008 | Do you only grow this for the flowers? How odd! Most people in my area (I'm from Bulgaria) use it as seasoning. My grandma grows it in the yard where the veggies are. I don't know any recipes with fresh leaves (even though I've heard it's good in salads), but this is how we use it: the leaves are mixed with salt in equal proportions and grinded. Then dried in a shady place. I like to sprinkle fresh tomatoes or cucumbers with this mix only and eat them. It's also a good addition to baked potatoes.
Thanks Etka! It's great to learn new things about the plants I grow. It sounds like they're used a bit like chives. Can you harvest fresh leaves without hurting the plant? I leave them to wither away, like I do with other bulb plants. |
| Etka | Jul 30, 2008 | I don't know how chives is used, my dictionary says it's some sort of allium. We only use the leaves. I asked my grandma - she told me leaves must be harvested before the plant blooms. She also suggested you cut only the thickest and pulpiest ones, and the small ones you could leave, so that it doesn't look ugly. She was also very surprised when I told her you grow it for the flowers - she cuts almost everything, leaving only 2 or 3 plants to take their the seeds for the next year. |
| Adri | Sep 05, 2009 | Have just bought nectaroscordum bulbs just for the flowers. Though I am from Romania, next to Bulgaria, we don't grow these plants here. I was impressed by the crown of flowers they make. Do they always have hanging flowers, don't they stick up?
I believe the flowers always dangle down, at least for this species. |
| Tina (Australia) | Nov 02, 2009 | It's late Spring here and I spotted some dangling buds rising above rampant groundcover daisies and I remembered the Allium type bulbs I planted some years ago, decided this was not the right spot for them and moved them to another part of the garden. These, now about to open up must be remnant bulbs from the original, now large enough to bloom.
Oddly enough, I was going through some discarded bulb labels and found 'Nectaroscordum siculum' and associated it with my recent find, dangling away above the daisies. Your pictures are very helpful to me Cheers Tina |
| Bob | Dec 22, 2009 | Can some give me some advise on when would be the best time to plan the bulbs in Southern California? |
| Arien (Slovakia) | Dec 28, 2009 | I bought some seeds of this plant, and I'm curious how they will grow. The label says, they need some cold before sowing. |
| Carla | Jun 05, 2010 | Interesting, I purchased this plant as a bulb and it is perennial for me. I'm in Maryland (eastern US) zone 7.
Yep, it's hardy all the way to zone 5. |
| Linda (Canada) | Apr 07, 2011 | I have grown it as a perennial for years now ... we are Zone 2 !!!!
I didn't know it was edible. I'll have to give that a go ... |
| Charlene (Canada) | May 25, 2011 | I planted the bulbs last fall and I have kept an eye on it this spring. It is coming up. I am in Zone 3 Northern Ontario Canada.
They're blooming right now in Pennsylvania's zone 6 :-) |
| Carole | Jun 18, 2011 | I am in Great Britain and I too have grown these for several years as a perennial and just for flowers. It doesn't surprise me though that Etka would eat them. I dug a bulb up earlier in the year in error and it smelt of onions. |
| Linmar | Jul 15, 2011 | The flowers hang down and then when the seeds start to form they turn upwards.
I'm in Hertfordshire in UK and they spread themselves around my garden. Really interesting to know about eating the leaves as I only grow them for the flowers and the bees do love them. |
| Darina | Aug 05, 2011 | I'm from Bulgaria too, and I'm just as surprised to see that some people grow this plant for its flowers! For me, it's something I put on my salad, prepared the way Etka described. :)
I got here by trying to find out its common English name through the Latin. |
| Karina (Tasmania, Australia) | Mar 14, 2012 | Interested to learn that leaves were edible as in a book it stated that is is slug, rabbit and deer-proof.
I think that many critters dislike the taste/smell of onion and garlic relatives, such as this plant. |
| Tanis | Jun 08, 2012 | Oops, we thought it was garlic which I planted in the fall until some started to bloom. Chopped the bulb, fried in butter and ate it on french bread. It was delicious and mildly garlicy. We are all still standing so I guess it worked out ok!
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| Michelle | Nov 19, 2012 | I can't find how deep to dig them in.
Does anyone know?
I believe you can use the general advice to bury them about three times as deep as the diameter of the bulbs. |
| Constance Gordon | May 18, 2013 | THe plant just appeared in my garden. I have no idea how it got there, but I am getting more from the seeds spreading.
Sounds good to me. I've never gotten seedlings from my plants. |
| Caroledeee | Jun 15, 2013 | I have grown this for the first time in the South of England and it is literally hummimg with bumble bees. They are mad for it. |
| Dee - Florida | Jan 13, 2015 | Just became acquainted with this... my daughter-in-law (from Bulgaria) had some delicious tea... so I inquired... was the dried leaves of this plant.
I'm planning to try some here in the deep south. It can take the cold here in
north Florida... but probably not the mid summer sun, so will plant on the est side and a little shade. |
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