Allium fistulosum
Winter Onion
Common names: Winter Scallion, Leek Onion, Spring Onion
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Spacing
- 5 cm, rows 20 cm
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Sowing
- Mar, Apr, Aug
- Harvest
- Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov
- Hardiness
- Hardy down to −15 °C
- Water need
- Medium
Photo: Genmewcaugsa · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The winter onion does not form a thick bulb; instead it provides mild, tube‑shaped scallion stems throughout the year. It is extremely hardy, remaining green under snow when fresh flavor is scarce. As a perennial, it reliably regrows after cutting.
Care instructions
Sow in spring or August directly into a sunny bed; the seed will overwinter for an early spring harvest. Keep the bed weed‑free and water moderately. Trim the tubes just above the soil surface if needed, the plant will regrow from the base and can be divided after several years.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
SowingMar–Apr, Aug
HarvestMar–Jun, Sep–Nov
Germination
- Soil temperature
- from 8 °C, ideally 18 °C
- Days to sprout
- 10 to 21 days
- Light
- Needs darkness to sprout
- Sowing depth
- 1 cm
- How to start
- Sow straight into the bed
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
humus-rich, well-drained, loamy
Give the Welsh onion a loose, humus-rich and well-drained soil that retains moisture but reliably drains off waterlogging. Sandy soils are fine if you work in compost beforehand; loosen heavy clay soils with sand.
Alliums (onion, garlic, leek) are moderate feeders. A 4-year break guards against onion rot and leek moth. They make good neighbours for carrots.
Feeding
Light feeder
Months
Mar, Apr, Jun
In spring, work ripe compost shallowly into the planting area, and on lean soils also rake a little horn shavings in near the surface. After the first cut in early summer, a light mulch layer of compost helps regrowth. Feed moderately, because too much nitrogen makes the foliage soft and prone to disease.
Overwintering
The Welsh onion is fully hardy and stays in the bed permanently; it needs no winter protection. After the first frost the foliage dies back, the root and base get through winter in the soil and shoot again by themselves from February/March; in spring you can divide the clump to rejuvenate the stand.
Propagation
Methods
- From seed
- Division
The Welsh onion is easy to propagate in two ways. For sowing, sow directly outdoors from March, as soon as the soil is no longer frozen. A thin layer of soil is enough as a covering. Alternatively, you can start indoors from February at around 20 °C. A late-summer sowing is possible between mid and late August; plants sown earlier easily bolt into flower the next spring, and those sown later stay too small. For vegetative propagation by division, lift the whole clump in early autumn (August to September) or in early spring and divide it into daughter clumps of 2 to 3 shoots each. Replant these pieces in a new spot; they can already be harvested fully the following year. A division every 2 to 3 years is worthwhile, because old clumps lose vigour and tire. Seeds germinate reliably and come true to type. Division, however, gives you strong, harvest-ready plants faster.
Companion planting
Good neighbors
carrot family (Apiaceae)
Umbellifers and alliums confuse each other's pests (carrot fly, onion fly).
For example CeleriacDillParsleyFlorence fennelCorianderCelery (Stalk Celery) and 20 more species in the catalogue
Source: classic companion planting (DACH-Gartenpraxis)
rose family (Rosaceae)
You can plant garlic and chives under strawberries and roses; their scent repels aphids and other pests.
For example AppleRaspberryClimbing rosePearAroniaAlpine strawberry and 58 more species in the catalogue
Source: Bio-Gärtnerei Mixed Culture Practice
Rather not
legume family (Fabaceae)
particularly well establishedAllium species inhibit the nitrogen‑fixing rhizobia of legumes through their root exudates, which slows their growth.
For example Pole beanBroad beanSnow peaWrinkled peaRunner beanLima bean and 34 more species in the catalogue
Source: basic crop‑rotation rule
Companion planting is partly traditional gardening lore. Where the reason is known, it is given.
Some of these explanations were machine-translated.
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Planting or sowing onions: three routes to your own harvest
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