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I have been growing spring onions and am not sure whether or not I am regrowing them the best way. I have a few questions.

I have been cutting the spring onions at their base so that the regrow and I don't have to plant more spring onions. Can I keep doing this forever, or will the taste or size of the spring onion start to suffer if I do this a number of times.

I also want to be able to let the spring onions go to seed so that I can regrow them. I have one Spring onion plant that has just developed a 'bud' like object. (Early Spring) Will this flower and seed? If so, how can I get my other plants to do this too?

Can these two methods be used in combination? For example, can I cut the spring onions at the base until taste starts to suffer, then let them go to seed and replant the seeds?

Answers to any or all of these questions would be appreciated.

Photos Spring onions regrowing after being cut Spring onion with 'bud' like object on top

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If you want your plants to develop flowers don't cut the leaves. The leaves help a plant to do photosynthesis and the bulbs are storage organs. When you regularly cut the leaves, the bulbs grow very slowly or don't grow at all. Usually a bulb has to be more than 2 cm (1 inch) in diameter in order for the plant to flower.

If you sow the seeds in spring you will harvest small bulbs in late summer. The small bulbs can be planted the following spring. Onion seeds have a better germination rate when they are fresh. The more years you store them, the fewer of them will germinate.

Yes, that 'bud' like object in the second picture will soon become a flower.

Alina
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Don't cut bulbs down! - bend the leaves over mid-way and use an elastic band or similar to secure. - That way nutrients from the leaves will be re-absorbed back into the bulb as the leaves die.

The swollen pod you can see is the flower-head. I am not sure about harvesting seed from onions, so I will leave this for someone else to give advice on.

  • When you say don’t cut bulbs down, are you referring to the first photo? I have been doing this as a way of harvesting, rather than pulling the Onion out of the ground, are you recommending against this? If I do this, it allows multiple harvests. –  Sep 10 '17 at 04:15
  • My apologies for the (very) late reply. - You only get a single harvest from onions (ie: you either harvest them or you don't), so my advice about folding the leaves over is not really applicable for onions (sorry). Also, onions will usually only bolt - flower and go to seed - if they are not kept moist, as it is being allowed to dry out that causes them to flower. –  Feb 08 '18 at 02:23