Hi, I planted three alliums (Allium giganteum 'Pink Jewel') last fall, and they started to grow nicely in the spring, grew about 3 feet tall, and formed big balls with something that looked like green seed pods, but there were no pink flowers, - only tiny purple hairs on these pods. It's July 8 already, and they looked like they are finished. Why were there no flowers? Maybe they don't develop them in the first year?
Yes, when you buy and plant the more commonly-sold Allium species as bulbs in fall, they would normally bloom the next year.
Your plants did bloom - those are seed pods which follow the bloom - but you missed it, evidently... or if not, and if the flowers were not noticeably pink and flower-like, then your plants were incredibly abnormal, somehow, or mislabelled.
Your seed head looks pretty sparse for Allium giganteum:
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Allium+giganteum+'Pink+Jewel'&client=safari&rls=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ULOdVYHaC47soASN3IKgBg&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1284&bih=1232
Might it have been mislabelled, and actually a much sparser sort of Allium? E.g.:
http://www.crocus.co.uk/images/products2/PL/10/00/00/03/PL1000000317_card6_lg.jpg
No, I didn't miss the blooming - I was watching these alliums every day -- all I saw was tiny purple hairs (maybe half an inch) on top of these seed pods. Maybe the reason is the soil? I did amend the soil with compost though. Should I go to the garden center and complain?
It's not the soil - soil can cause things to grow poorly but not to change character completely. Chances are you were sent a different Allium than you ordered.
Have a look at some of these:
http://statebystategardening.com/images/uploads/article_uploads/12DecMW_W1-HP_1b.jpg
http://gardening.bloginky.com/files//2008/09/allium-hair-john-scheepers.jpg
http://digituin.tuinadvies.be/uploads/1400920058-105429c.jpg
http://www.growingformarket.com/custom/Allium%20schubertii.jpg
To get these seed-heads (and these are normal seed-heads for the ornamental onion) the plant has to have flowered, the flowers get pollinated by insects, breeze, even watering can cause pollination in some instances.
The Giganteum type refer to the size of the flower rather than just the height, there is no possibility that the plants can form seed-heads without having flowers, IF you think about it in simple terms, to produce tomato's, the plant has to make flowers, the flowers need pollinated for the fruit as we know it, BUT the tomatoes are actually the seed-heads, edible, yes, but NOT all fruit is edible to humans, or pleasant.
For whatever reason, you have NOT noticed or recognised what was flowers, and for your plant to have formed the NORMAL globe shape of seed capsules, flowering definitely took place, maybe distorted, maybe NOT as many small flowers, maybe even the wrong colour, but flower they did.
Soil could obviously prevent or distort the growth, it could stunt the size, deform the flowers, cause diseases etc, but it cant cause a plant to form seeds without some form of flowers being available before the seeds form, in the first place (your talking virgin birth) if you think you don't require fertilisation, for the next generation be it animal, vegetable etc, whatever method used, you do require male and female for the fertility to take place and in the plant world, it's the flowers that when fertilised, give the next generation via seeds, so these little green global seed-heads are formed, left on the plant to dry, you will be able to crack them open and plant the seeds for next year.
Hope this helps you understand how the plant life works, repeats the process and gives us those beautiful blooms we all like.
Kindest regards.
WeeNel.
