These are our favorite perennial onions! Also known as walking onions, these onions are truly amazing. The entire plant is edible and there are many ways to enjoy their onion-ey goodness. The greens can be cut eaten throughout the season like a delicious green onion. They will send up a flower stalk with edible small onions on top (called bulbils), that are tasty. And the tubers can be thinned as your patch grows and the bulb eaten like a shallot. So little work and so much flavor! (Allium proliferum)
Why We Love It
Here are some of the reasons why we love Walking Onions...
1) FLAVOR - These perennial onions are so yummy! Bulbs and bulbils have a shallot flavor great in many dishes. Greens have a scallion flavor.
2) LOW MAINTENANCE - These are the easiest onions you'll ever grow! Except for harvesting and watering. these plants need little care. Every few years a thinning and light composting will refresh your patch.
3) PROLIFIC - The little bulbils at the top of these onions will root when the stalks fall over in the fall, planting themselves and growing your patch, giving the impression that they are walking around your garden.
How to Grow It
Here's how to grow Perma Onions:
| SUN | FULL SUN |
| MOISTURE | FREQUENT; WELL DRAINING SOIL |
| GROWING ZONES | USDA ZONE 3-9 (Not sure? Find your growing zone here) |
| SIZE | 2-3 FEET TALL & SPREADING HABIT |
| PRO TIP | All Alliums have shallow root systems and need more frequent waterings, good drainage, and nutrient-rich soils. Harvesting regularly keeps rust and mildew at bay. If you don't want them to spread, you can simply cut off the bulbils when they form at the top of the plant. |
How to Harvest & Use It
Cut off green leaves and use as green onions. Your green tops will grow back quickly. Use bulbs and bulbils just like any other type of onion.
Here's a wonderful video from Dan from Plant Abundance that will give you some more tips about growing this awesome plant: