Allium (schoenoprasum)

Tara Luna USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana 59936 (406) 888-7835 http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/azpmc

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Family Scientific Name:	Liliaceae
Family Common Name:	Lily family
Scientific Name:	Allium schoenoprasum L.
Common Name:	Chives
Species Code:	ALLSCH
Ecotype:	Subalpine slope, adjacent to stream, Glacier National Park, Flathead Co., MT.
General Distribution:	A. schoenoprasum is a circumboreal species; which extends south in North America to northeastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado, also east to Minnesota,New York, and Newfoundland. It inhabits moist soils in wetland margins, springs and mountain meadows.
Propagation Goal:	plants
Propagation Method:	seed
ProductType:	Container (plug)
Stock Type:	160 ml conetainer
Time To Grow:	10 Months
Target Specifications:	Stock Type: Container seedlings<br> Height: 6 to 10 true leaves, 8 cm<br> Caliper: n/a<br> Root System: firm plug with developed bulb in conetainer.
Propagule Collection:	Collect mature capsules when they begin to split and turn light tan and papery. Seeds are black at maturity. Capsules are collected in paper bags and kept in a well ventilated drying shed.
Propagule Processing:	Seeds are hand cleaned from capsules. Seed longevity is unknown. Seed dormancy is classified as physiological dormancy. Seeds/Kg:2,600,000/kg % Purity: 100% % Germination: 50%
Pre-Planting Treatments:	5 month outdoor cold, moist stratification of fresh seeds. Germination characteristics of this species are reported to vary according to fresh seeds or seeds dry stored for six months. Seeds are reported to germinate equally well in light or dark.
Growing Area Preparation/ Annual Practices for Perennial Crops:	Outdoor nursery growing facility. Sowing Method:Direct Seeding. Growing medium used is 6:1:1 milled spaghnum peat,perlite, and vermiculite with Osmocote controlled release fertilizer (13N:13P2O5:13K2O; 8 to 9 month release rate at 21C) and Micromax fertilizer (12%S, 0.1%B, 0.5%Cu, 12%Fe, 2.5%Mn, 0.05%Mo, 1%Zn) at the rate of 1 gram of Osmocote and 0.20 gram of Micromax per 172 ml conetainer. Conetainers are filled and sown in late fall and irrigated thoroughly prior to winter stratification. Seedlings germinate in spring under fluctuating outdoor temperatures and are grown under full sun exposure. Seedlings are irrigated with Rainbird automatic irrigation system in early morning until containers are thoroughly leached. Average growing season of nursery is from late April after snowmelt until October 15th.
Establishment Phase:	Medium is kept slightly moist during germination. Germination was very uniform and was complete in 7 days. Seedlings had developed 1 to 2 true leaves in 1 week.
Length of Establishment Phase:	4 weeks
Active Growth Phase:	Root and shoot development occur rapidly following germination. Plants were fertilized with 13-13-13 liquid NPK fertilizer at 100 ppm during the growing season. Plants had developed 10 to 12 true leaves and were root tight with a well developed bulb in 8 weeks.
Length of Active Growth Phase:	12 weeks
Hardening Phase:	Plants are fertilized with 10-20-20 liquid NPK at 200 ppm during August and September. Irrigation is gradually reduced in September and October. Plants were given one final irrigation prior to winterization.
Length of Hardening Phase:	4 weeks
Harvesting, Storage and Shipping:	Total Time To Harvest:10 months Harvest Date: August Storage Conditions: Overwinter in outdoor nursery under insulating foam cover and snow.
Length of Storage:	5 months
Other Comments:	Vegetative Propagation Method: Divisions of established plants. This species forms multiple bulbs and an extensive root system. Unlike other Allium species in Montana, it can be grown to a root tight plug in containers.
References:	Flora of the Pacific Northwest, Hitchcock and Cronquist, 7th edition, University of Washington Press, 1973. Seeding Rate Statistics for Native and Introduced Species, Hassell, Wendel, U.S.D.I. and U.S.D.A., April 1996. Seeds: Ecology, Biogeography, and Evolution of Dormancy and Germination, Baskin and Baskin, Academic Press, 1998. Seed Germination Theory and Practice, Deno, Norman, Penn State University, 1993. Glacier National Park Native Plant Nursery Propagation Records, unpublished.

Citation:

Luna, Tara; Evans, Jeff; Wick, Dale. 2008. Propagation protocol for production of Container (plug) Allium schoenoprasum L. plants 160 ml conetainer; USDI NPS - Glacier National Park West Glacier, Montana. In: Native Plant Network. URL: https://NativePlantNetwork.org (accessed 2025/04/02). US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Center for Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetic Resources.