🧅 Scallion

Allium fistulosum
The onion that never got around to making a bulb — and never needed to.
Sun
Full sun (6+ hours)
Days to harvest
60–80 days from seed; 30–40 days for regrowth cuttings
Spacing
1–2 inches apart in bands; they like company
Soil pH
6.0–7.0

How to grow

Scallions (true bunching onions, Allium fistulosum) are perennials that never bulb — they just keep making more green stalks from the base, like a fountain of mild onion flavor. Sow seeds a quarter inch deep in early spring or fall; they germinate best in cool soil around 60–70°F. Or skip the patience entirely: buy a bunch at the store, use the green tops, and plant the white root ends. They regrow in weeks. This is not a hack, it's literally how the plant works.

For a perpetual supply, harvest with the cut-and-come-again method: snip outer stalks an inch above the soil and let the center keep growing. A single planting can produce for months. In mild-winter areas (zone 8+), fall-planted scallions overwinter happily and explode in spring.

They're shallow-rooted, so consistent moisture matters more than depth of watering. Mulch lightly to hold moisture and suppress weeds, which scallions compete with poorly — their skinny leaves cast basically no shade, so weeds party at their expense.

Water & feeding

About an inch a week, steady. Drip or soaker is ideal since wet foliage invites disease. A light side-dress of worm castings mid-season keeps the green tops coming without pushing soft, floppy growth.

Common problems

  • Onion thrips (silvery streaks on leaves): blast with water, encourage beneficial insects; usually cosmetic on scallions.
  • Downy mildew (fuzzy gray-purple patches): improve air flow, water at soil level, remove affected leaves.
  • Bolting: some varieties bolt in heat — choose heat-tolerant bunching types for warm climates and harvest promptly.
  • Weeds outcompeting: mulch and hand-weed; scallions are terrible competitors.

Harvest

Pull whole plants when stalks are pencil-thick, or snip outer leaves continuously for cut-and-come-again production. The entire plant — white base to green tip — is edible.

Nerdy fact: Allium fistulosum is one of the oldest cultivated vegetables on Earth, grown in China for over 2,000 years. The green tops contain most of the vitamin C and all of the drama when you try to chop them without crying — wait, no, that's regular onions. Scallions are merciful.

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