Ramps
Allium tricoccum
The Appalachian wild delicacy: garlic-scented spring leaves, edible from leaf to bulb. Slowly builds colonies in rich woodland shade.
Typically 1 pint–1 gal · $9–$30 · final price at pickup
- Thu, Sep 248 AM – 4 PM
- Fri, Sep 258 AM – 4 PM
- Sat, Sep 268 AM – 2 PM
The wild edible that food culture obsesses over -- a fragrant spring ephemeral that makes a woodland garden feel like Appalachian mountain terrain.
Ramps are one of Appalachian food culture's most coveted plants and one of the woodland garden's most useful spring ephemerals. The broad, smooth leaves emerge in March and April with a powerful garlic-onion fragrance, filling a woodland garden with a scent that's pungent and satisfying. They're edible raw, sauteed, pickled, or dried -- every part of the plant, from leaf to bulb, has culinary value, and ramps festivals in mountain communities celebrate their arrival every spring. After the leaves die back in late spring, small white flower clusters appear on leafless stems in June -- delicate and lovely, attracting small native bees. The plant spreads slowly by offsets and seed to form colonies over years in rich, moist woodland soil. Patience is required; ramps are worth it.
A nursery-grown plant, ready for the ground.
Healthy, container-grown ramps propagated on-site at Hill House from regional genetics. Includes a one-page care card. We make every effort to supply plants as listed; occasionally we substitute a similar species of equal value.
- Sun
- Part shade
- Water
- Average
- Mature size
- 6"–1' · 4–8 in wide
- Bloom time
- June
- USDA zones
- 3–7
- Family
- Amaryllidaceae
- Native range
- Eastern North America from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south through the Appalachians to Georgia, in moist rich woodlands
Care notes for ramps.
Part sun to full shade in moist, rich, well-drained, humus-rich soil. Mulch with leaf litter each fall to mimic natural woodland conditions. Allow seed heads to mature and drop for natural colony expansion. Harvest sparingly -- never more than one leaf per plant to ensure long-term colony health. Very slow to establish.
Pairs well with these.
Same light, same soil, same wildlife. Janet's picks to plant alongside ramps.
Or skip the guesswork.
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