Allium cernuum (Nodding onion)

Imagine a graceful native onion with soft pink, bell-shaped flowers that gently nod at the tips of slender stems—that’s nodding onion.

Sow in fall or cold-stratify and sow in spring. (~25 seeds)

Allium cernuum (Nodding onion) is a low-maintenance, wildlife-supporting native perennial known for its delicate flowers and subtle onion scent. Native to much of North America, it naturally grows in prairies, open woodlands, rocky slopes, and meadows. Blooming in early to mid-summer, its drooping flower clusters provide an important nectar source during a key period for pollinators.

Nodding onion thrives in full sun to partial shade and prefers well-drained soils, including sandy, rocky, or gravelly sites. Once established, it is drought-tolerant, long-lived, and forms tidy clumps rather than spreading aggressively. Unlike many garden onions, it blends beautifully into ornamental and native plantings.

Elegant, resilient, and quietly hardworking, nodding onion adds soft movement and structure to landscapes while supporting biodiversity.

🌿 What makes it special

Its nodding clusters of pink to lavender flowers are rich in nectar and easy for pollinators to access, and the foliage is naturally deer- and rabbit-resistant.

🐝 Who loves it

Native bees, honey bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects

🌎 Where it belongs

Prairies, meadows, open woodlands, rocky slopes, and sunny garden spaces with good drainage. It is clump-forming and well-behaved.

Best Places to Plant It

🌾 Pollinator strips and habitat corridors
🌼 Native wildflower meadows
☀️ Sunny to lightly shaded garden beds
🐝 Bee-friendly garden zones near nesting habitat
🌿 Rock gardens and dry borders

If you’re aiming for a graceful native perennial that supports pollinators, resists browsing animals, and fits naturally into both wild and designed landscapes, nodding onion is an excellent choice.