Yellow Hedysarum vs Nodding Onion - TreeTime.ca

Yellow Hedysarum vs Nodding Onion

Hedysarum sulphurescens

Allium cernuum

CUSTOM GROW

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON - MIGHT RETURN

Yellow Hedysarum
Nodding Onion

Yellow Hedysarum is a native perennial wildflower recognised for its clusters of bright yellow pea-like blooms. It adds colour to grasslands, roadsides, and open woods. It is also a nitrogen fixer, which helps improve soil fertility. Because of its deep root system, it contributes to slope and soil stabilisation.

The plant provides forage for wildlife and cover for small animals, especially its roots. Its flowers attract pollinators such as bees.

Yellow Hedysarum plays an important role in prairie and foothill ecosystems. It is well-suited for ecological restoration, naturalisation, pollinator gardens, and erosion control projects.

Nodding Onion is a native perennial wildflower known for its nodding clusters of flowers that range in color from white to pink to purple. The lightly scented blooms provide pollen and nectar for pollinators, especially bees, which can collect while hanging upside down, a capability most other insects lack.

The narrow, grass-like leaves of the Nodding Onion can be used as a seasoning in cooked dishes, though bulbs and raw leaves should not be eaten in large quantities. All parts of the plant have an onion-like aroma when bruised, which helps deter deer and rabbits. They can self-seed readily, so removing spent blooms helps manage their spread. Tolerant of a range of soils, including alkaline, it is well-suited for a variety of plantings, including pollinator gardens and naturalization projects.

Yellow Hedysarum Quick Facts

Nodding Onion Quick Facts

Zone: 2b
Zone: 3a
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Height: 0.3 m (1.0 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.8 ft)
Spread: 0.2 m (0.5 ft)
Light: partial shade, full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: fast
Life span: short
Life span: short
Growth form: ascending to upright
Growth form: upright to spreading, clump-forming
Spreading: seeds - low
Spreading: seeds - high
Maintenance: medium


Toxicity: raw leaves and bulbs can be midly toxic
Foliage: smells of onion when crushed, edible
Flowers: creamy yellow, in dense spikes
Flowers: white, pink, or purple nodding clusters
Bloom time: late spring to summer
Bloom time: late spring to summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no


Native to: AB, BC
Native to: AB, BC, SK, ON
Other Names: sulphur hedysarum, sulphur sweet-vetch, yellow sweet-vetch
Other Names: ladys leek, nodding wild onion