Illustration
Nodding Onion
Allium cernuum
Also called nodding wild onion and lady's leek
Also comes in purple and white.
Nodding Onion blooms from June through August.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
Growing Nodding Onion
Plant it in full sun. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 4–8. Expect it to reach about 16 in tall and 8 in wide at maturity, in roughly 1 year (a house reading).
Is Nodding Onion toxic to dogs or cats?
- Listed as toxic to dogs and cats by University of Florida IFAS Extension and Royal Horticultural Society.
Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.
What was checked
Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
When to plant Nodding Onion
Nodding Onion is a summer bulb planted in spring: get it in after the last frost, once the soil has warmed, April or May in zone 6, the middle of its hardy zones 4 to 8. It is hardy in zones 4 to 8, where it can stay in the ground over winter; colder than zone 4, lift and store it before the ground freezes. Expect flowers from June to August.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 6, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 6 in April. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Nodding Onion get?
16 intall5 ft 7 inan adult8 inwideSee Nodding Onion in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
Where these facts come from
Nodding Onion's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags were checked against 7 published sources on October 23, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- Missouri Botanical GardenPlant Finderheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionPlant Toolboxheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic GardenPlant Finderhardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Prairie Moon Nurseryheight, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
- University of Wisconsin HorticultureUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extensionheight, hardiness zones, sun, bloom months and color and trait tags
- Chicago Botanic GardenRichard Hawke, Fine Gardening August 2022height, spread, hardiness zones and bloom months and color
- Iowa State University Extensionand Outreachsun, bloom months and color and trait tags
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Where it grows wild
Native to 33 states and 4 provinces
United States: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and 21 more
Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan
Recorded growing wild in 573 counties.
Range data from the World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 4.0, adapted) and USDA PLANTS. How the native range is credited.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.