[leekycauldron]

Hi there,

I planted some red onion sets last September. They are looking perfectly healthy on the whole, but some seem to be growing a lot more than others. Some still look pretty much the same size as they have been all winter, while others look more promising and seem to be forming bulbs. A couple have started to produce a flower head (which I will cut off). The 'biggest' ones are only about the size of a golf ball, but hopefully will get bigger in the next month?

My main question is: will the ones which are lagging behind catch up? Or should I give up on them and use the space for something else soon? What might have lead to this non-uniformity?

Many thanks,
Jon

[SG6]

You don't actually say if you planted overwintering onions or simply planted onions and let them overwinter.

If the latter then I suspect that September to March made them think was their first year, then the frosts and so now they are in their second year. So being in what they now probably think is their second year they will flower.

If they are proper overwintering onions then they could also be thinking the same. I have noticed the we plant them a little earlier each year and eventually even overwintering onions will start to count the first part as a years growth and so flower in the second year.

They need to be planted just so they get a little growth, and are ready for the "first" year in the ground nice and early. I have always put mine in around November. Overwintering just means they should survive a frost or two.

[leekycauldron]

Thanks for the reply. I'm pretty sure they were overwintering onions. I think it said "plant autumn" or "plant sept/nov" on the packet. If they (all) think it's their second year, that still doesn't seem to explain why some are very small whilst others have grown a lot more, I don't think? I wouldn't have thought being in the second year would impede growth?

[solway cropper]

I put some true overwintering onions in the ground last October and they are now about golf ball size. I also grew some in containers in the unheated greenhouse and the best of them are about tennis ball size. Quite a few of the container grown ones bolted so I now have an explanation for that...they thought this was their second year. Interesting.

[SUTTY1]

might not help but are your white onions ok. everyone on my site seems to struggle with the reds. Especially going to seed, splitting and small size.

Growing red baron setts this year and same problem. Any advice on type to try very welcome!!

[SG6]

Only suggested the time because as I said reading the posts we seem to get more and more impatient and plant things earlier and earlier. Eventually we end up planting too early and the plants do what they want not what we want. An onion set is a small onion so it has already grown from a seed to what we/you plant so there is already a growth time factor built in that we seem to forget.

If seed to set size = 4 months growth, then Sept to Feb = 5 months growth then by Feb the onion has had/seen 9 months of "growth". Is that enough for it to think that the first year has come and gone so it is time to flower the next  year?

Garlic is a good example,  I throw mine in again usually Nov, seen posts of planting Oct and Sept. There is an old saying about garlic: Plant on the shortest day and harvest on the longest. Shortest day being around Dec 22.

I have started to make a point of not planting anything considered overwintering until late Nov or Dec. The OW onions I have have 12-15 inches of solid green growth and not a sign of any going to flower. The garlics are much bigger.

Sutty made a good point, many have given up on red onions as the success rate is often poor. I tried twice and do no longer bother. The twice I tried I also found that some grew, some didn't, some rotted and some went to flower - they were not an OW variety, but the results were much the same.

Other factor is stress, it has been pretty dry recently, well here anyway and postings of drought, so some could have been stressed from that and then they will go straight to the flower stalk stage.

You will get a range of reactions out of the onions so not all will do the same thing.

Somewhere out there will be a reliable red onion, just seems that we haven't found it yet on public sale.

[DD.]

Oddly enough, not one of my red winter onions, (Electric), has bolted. I've 4 different white ones, and some of each of those have flowered.

Don't ask me why.

[Sid]

My white o/w onions are looking good, but over half of my red barron have started to bolt,first time growing onions for me,so I think I will stick to white in future.

[leekycauldron]

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll just wait and see what happens and try to take heed for next year. I didn't realise red onions are generally more difficult than white ones.

[SG6]

I didn't realise red onions are generally more difficult than white ones.

Neither did I until I tried growing them, after the second attempt I started reading then gave up . Shame because I use them in many things.