Plant Library

Other Names:  Pink Agapanthus

Description:

A very ornamental variety with variegated pink, green, and white foliage that has a garlic odor and can be used in salads and cooking; not quite as cold hardy as other varieties; great for containers and border edging

Edible Qualities

Tricolor Variegated Society Garlic is a perennial herb that is commonly grown for its edible qualities, although it does have ornamental merits as well. The entire above-ground parts of the plant are edible, and are usually harvested from early summer to early fall. The edible parts have a mild taste and a distinctive fragrance.

The plant is most often used in the following ways:

• Fresh Eating
• Cooking

Features & Attributes

Tricolor Variegated Society Garlic features showy spikes of violet star-shaped flowers with pink overtones rising above the foliage from mid spring to early summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive grassy leaves remain light green in color with showy shell pink variegation and tinges of silver throughout the season. The grayish green stems can be quite attractive.

This is an herbaceous perennial herb with a mounded form. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition. This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and should be cut back in late fall in preparation for winter. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Aside from its primary use as an edible, Tricolor Variegated Society Garlic is sutiable for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• General Garden Use
• Herb Gardens

Planting & Growing

Tricolor Variegated Society Garlic will grow to be about 12 inches tall at maturity extending to 24 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. When grown in masses or used as a bedding plant, individual plants should be spaced approximately 18 inches apart. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an herbaceous perennial, this plant will usually die back to the crown each winter, and will regrow from the base each spring. Be careful not to disturb the crown in late winter when it may not be readily seen!

This plant is quite ornamental as well as edible, and is as much at home in a landscape or flower garden as it is in a designated herb garden. It does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It may require supplemental watering during periods of drought or extended heat. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.