Prefers a sunny position in a light well-drained soil. Succeeds in clay soils. Tolerates a pH in the range 5.2 to 8.3. The bulbs should be planted fairly deeply. Closely allied to the wild leek, A. ampeloprasum, differing mainly in its having more bulbils and fewer flowers in the flowering head. Plants can spread freely by means of their bulbils and sometimes become a weed in the garden. Where the plant is found wild in Britain it might be as a relic of early cultivation in monasteries etc. Grows well with most plants, especially roses, carrots, beet and chamomile, but it inhibits the growth of legumes. This plant is a bad companion for alfalfa, each species negatively affecting the other. Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer.

Bulb - raw or cooked. The small bulbs can vary considerably in size from 2 - 6cm, they have a pleasant mild garlic flavor. Leaves - raw or cooked. The young leaves are pleasant raw, older leaves quickly become fibrous and are best cooked. They have a nice leek flavor. The plants come into new growth in early winter and the leaves are often available from January. Flowers - raw. A pleasant mild garlic flavor, but with a rather dry texture. This species produces mainly bulbils and very few flowers. The bulbils have a mild garlic flavor and make a nice flavoring in salads and cooked foods. Although produced abundantly, they are quite fiddly to use because they are small. They can also be pickled.

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame, though it can also be sown in a cold frame in the spring. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. Well-grown plants can be planted out into their final positions in late summer or the autumn, otherwise grow them on for a further year in pots and plant them out the following summer. This species produces few if any seeds. Division in late summer or early autumn. Dig up the bulbs when the plants are dormant and divide the small bulblets at the base of the larger bulb. Replant immediately, either in the open ground or in pots in a cold frame. Bulbils - plant out as soon as they are ripe in late summer. The bulbils can be planted direct into their permanent positions, though you get better results if you pot them up and plant them out the following spring.

Clefts of rocks and sandy places near the coast.