How to Plant and Grow Ramps

Resembling a mix of garlic, onions, leeks, and chives, ramps (Allium tricoccum) are a nutritious and delicious novelty vegetable that’s a favorite ingredient in fine-dining restaurants and home kitchens. In the past, these spring ephemerals—the leaves emerge in March—were only gathered from the wild, but now wild ramps populations are protected in some areas due to overharvesting. As a result, more and more gardeners are starting to grow ramps in their backyards, which is a much more eco-friendly and reliable way to source the leaves and bulbs of these delicious native plants.

Where to Plant Ramps

Unlike garlic and onions, ramps retain a lot of their natural wildness and aren’t well adapted to garden beds. Gardeners who want to grow ramps successfully must replicate the conditions where ramps naturally grow. In the wild, ramps grow in moist, deciduous forests with ample shade and rich earth. Ramps are particularly well suited for forest gardening and shady plots. They grow as perennial bulbs in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 3 to 7.

To grow ramps at home, choose a shady location that doesn’t receive much direct sun. Often, garden beds on the north side of properties are good places to grow ramps because they stay shadier and cooler throughout the day. Ramps also thrive in the shade of deciduous trees, including maples, hickories, and birches.

How and When to Plant Ramps

Ramps are usually grown from either seeds or bulbs, which can be ordered online or from specialty seed catalogs. However, it’s important to order ramps from reliable suppliers. Gathering ramps from the wild is illegal in some areas, so it’s essential that you get your ramps from a reliable source.

Growing Ramps from Seeds: Most ramps are grown from seed, but this method requires patience. Slow-growing ramps can take five to seven years to reach a harvestable size when grown from seed.

The best time to sow ramp seeds is either in spring or autumn. Autumn planting tends to be easier because ramps planted outdoors go through the necessary freeze/thaw cycle that jumpstarts germination. Spring planting of ramp seeds is also possible, but germination rates are usually lower, and the seeds must be warm-stratified and then cold-stratified in your refrigerator.

Prepare the garden soil and rake away any leaves and other debris where you plan to sow the seeds. Then, loosen the soil with a hand rake, place the ramp seeds about 4 inches apart, and press them lightly into the soil. Cover the seeds with 1 to 2 inches of leaf mulch. From time to time, check the area to ensure the soil stays moist and water the area if needed.

Planting Ramps Bulbs: If you want to harvest ramps sooner, grow them from bulbs. When grown from bulbs, ramps are ready to harvest in three to five years.

The best time to plant ramp bulbs is in early spring, from February to March. Plant them as soon as you get them, but they can be kept fresh in your refrigerator for up to one week if the weather makes planting difficult.

To plant ramp bulbs, prepare the planting site by removing any leaves and adding compost if needed. Then plant the ramp bulbs about 3 inches deep so that the tip of the bulb is barely exposed above the soil line, spacing the bulbs about 4 inches apart. Adding mulch over the new planting helps lock in soil moisture and insulates the ramps from the cold.

Ramps Care Tips

After ramps are established, they are low maintenance as long as they are growing in their preferred environment and their basic needs are met.

Light

Ramps grow best in shady locations, but if you have a sunny garden, you may still be able to grow a lush patch of ramps. One way to do that is to add a shade cloth over a section of the garden and plant ramps beneath it. Shade cloth mimics the shady cover of deciduous forests and prevents ramp leaves from developing sun scorch.

Soil and Water

Ramps grow best in rich, moist soil with a pH between 6.8 and 7.2. Depending on your garden, you may want to test the soil before planting ramps and amend it with compost, aged manure, or other amendments.

Ramps are water-loving plants that need moist soil all year round. While many flowering bulbs, like crocuses, don’t need supplemental water when they’re dormant, ramps must be watered throughout the year if your garden is dry.

Ramps need 1 to 1 ½ inches of water per week, but they shouldn’t sit in soggy earth, which can cause the bulbs to rot. If you don’t want to water the plants frequently, mulch the ramps with shredded leaves from hardwood trees and install a drip irrigation system to water the plants for you.

Temperature and Humidity

Ramps are perennial bulbs in USDA Zones 3-7, but they require a shady location or woodland habitat. In this environment, they routinely thrive in humidity as low as 10 percent in winter and more than 60 percent in summer.

Fertilizer

Ramps might not need fertilizer when planted in rich, well-draining soil. However, wild ramps often grow in soil with higher-than-average calcium levels. So, if you want to give your plants an extra boost, add gypsum to the garden before planting ramps to increase the calcium levels in the soil.

Potting and Repotting Ramps

Ramps are easy to grow in pots. Choose a container that is 12 inches deep and has good drainage. Plant bulbs and young plants or sow seeds 4 inches apart in rich, well-draining soil. After planting, add a 1- to 2-inch layer of leaf mulch and position the container in a shady area. The ramps will eventually fill the container but don't plan on repotting because ramps don't transplant well.

Pests and Problems

Ramps don't have a lot of problems with insects. Leaf spot sometimes occurs in some areas, but the damage it does is cosmetic; the plant will survive.

Weeds are a bigger problem for ramps than insects. Ramps are vulnerable to weeds that deprive them of nutrients and prevent them from growing. Stay on top of weeding by pulling out weeds as they appear in your garden. While weeding, be conscious of the ramp bulbs, and don't weed so aggressively that you dislodge the ramps from the soil. If you want to prevent weeds naturally, spread 1 to 3 inches of shredded leaves over the ramps to keep weed seeds from germinating.

Ramps produce their aromatic leaves in March and April, the leaves die back in May, and the plant begins to flower. When the flowers fade, ramps enter a state of dormancy, and the plants can disappear entirely above ground, although their roots continue to grow. When ramps die back in summer, it can be easy to forget they’re in your garden. Marking the ramp patch with labels or poles will help you remember where your plants are located and prevent you from accidentally digging up the bulbs while they’re dormant.

How to Propagate Ramps

Propagate ramps by harvesting seed and sowing it or by dividing the bulbs.

Division: In the fall, lift an entire ramps clump of bulbs, and roots with a shovel and relocate it to another area to start a new ramps colony, or gently tease apart the bulbs and roots and move the sections to several areas.

Seed: Ramps seed matures in late summer. After the small white flowers bloom, locate the seed heads and shake the tiny black seeds they contain into an envelope or container. Sow the seed in a prepared bed in the fall. If you prefer to sow the seeds in the spring, put the seeds you gather in the refrigerator for several months of cold stratification.

How to Harvest Ramps

Ramps are vulnerable to overharvesting, even when they’re grown in gardens. When gathering ramps, be gentle and don’t pick more than 10 to 15 percent of the ramps each year. This restraint ensures the ramps bounce back after harvest and allows the ramp plants to go to seed and self-sow more plants. 

If you’re growing ramps from seed, avoid harvesting any ramps for the first three to five years, and wait at least three years to harvest ramps grown from bulbs. Ramps are usually harvested in April or May when their leaves are still green and without yellow coloration. Use a hand shovel to loosen the soil beneath the ramps and lift the bulbs gently from the earth. The leaves and bulbs are both edible, but you can harvest ramp leaves when they’re about 5 inches tall and leave the bulbs in the soil so they can continue growing if you prefer.

Ramps Companion Plants

Look for companion plants that grow in shade to accompany ramps, such as trillium, bloodroot, and bluebells.

Trillium

When trillium (Trillium grandiflorum) is planted successfully and left undisturbed, it spreads gradually. Plant this graceful perennial in a shady spot where you can enjoy its spring blossoms. Trillium grows best in part shade or full shade. It likes moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil, a condition that encourages the plant to multiply and spread gradually. It doesn't like to be transplanted. Zones 4-8

Bluebells

Virginia bluebells (Mertensia virginiana) thrive in moist, shady woodland settings. These native perennials are spring ephemerals that appear early in the season, bloom, and die back to the ground before hot weather sets in. The blue, nodding flowers can reseed prolifically and naturalize in an area over time. Zones 3-8

Bloodroot

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis) is a native woodland wildflower that functions as a long-lasting groundcover in shade gardens. Although its bright white flowers last for just a few days in early spring, this perennial's blue-green leaves blanket the ground with color and texture through late summer. Zones 4-8