Flowering Onion????

[jksimpson]

I am asking a question for my sister and since she is out of town, I have not seen in person what I am about to describe....

My sister thought she planted green onions. As the stalks came up, they looked very odd....grassy and sort of weedy. She thought it was a weed and went to pull it when she realized that there was indeed an onion underground as she was overwhelmed by the smell and saw a white vegetable. She left it alone.

Now it has small white flowers?!?

What do you think it is? What do the flowers mean?

[Kisal]

It means the onion(s) are completing their life cycle. Onions are biennials, and when started from seed, require 2 years before they produce flowers and seeds. Fluctuating temperatures can "fool" them into thinking they have completed their full 2 years of growth. The onions will be fine to eat, but they won't grow any larger and cannot be stored. Use them as soon as possible.

The flower stalk can be removed, but once it is there, removing it won't correct the problem with the onion(s).

[minnesota_girl]

What about an allium, that's related to the onion and has very pretty flowers.

[cynthia_h]

Allium is the genus to which onions, leeks, and garlic belong. However, there are (according to Sunset's Western Garden Book) about 500 species in this well-populated genus, so it's possible that this plant did start as a veggie.

A. cepa = onion

A. porrum = leek

A. sativum = garlic

There are other edible Allium species as well.

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17

[minnesota_girl]

Honestly, I don't know anything about them. I have grown a couple but don't know anything about them and flowering onions.