Nodding Onion is a tough, native bulb with beautiful, pink to white umbel flowers and the distinctive scent common to the Allium family. The flowers bloom for several weeks between June and August, and their nodding form favors bees as their primary pollinator. Clumps will increase in size by clonal offsets and can be easily divided when they have thickened up. They also spread by self-seeding, so deadheading may be helpful if you want to keep it from germinating wherever it pleases. Dense clumps of its bulbs make a good barrier against running rhizomes, a useful trait in the mixed perennial border. Deer and rabbits avoid their smell, so they may also be effective as a deterrent against herbivory when interplanted with more vulnerable species. Nodding Onions are edible, as with all Alliums, and most often the leaves are eaten chopped fresh, like Chives.
Sources:
Growing and Propagating Wildflowers by William Cullina
Peterson Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants Eastern/Central North America by Lee Allen Peterson
Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants and Herbs by Steven Foster and James A. Duke
Growing and Propagating Wild Flowers by Harry R. Phillips
Missouri Botanical Garden
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Illinois Wildflowers
