Tolerates wet soils. San Francisco Bay region, lowlands of the southern North Coast Ranges, northern Central Coast. Seed, bulblets, and bulbils disperse primarily through human activities associated with agriculture. One plant can produce up to 300 aerial bulbils. Seeds, soft bulblets, and aerial bulbils are viable for about 1 year and typically germinate in fall with the first rains.
Infestations are difficult to control because the bulbs are hard to eliminate.
Repeated cultivation every 2-3 weeks from late fall through spring for several years can prevent seed and aerial bulbil or seed production and help deplete bulb energy reserves. Cultivation is most effective under dry conditions. There are numerous native Allium species in California, several of which are rare. However, native onions are typically not weedy. Only wild garlic develops aerial bulbils, and only panicled onion has an inflorescence bract that extends about 4-9 cm beyond the flowers.