(Garden Onion, Sweet Yellow Onion)

This disease-resistant "super-sweet" onion is one of several developed for Texas commercial growers by the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Weslaco. It is among the most widely grown and sold onion varieties in the United States.

The garden onion is a herbaceous biennial commonly grown as an annual vegetable. Pale hollow green leaves and long flower stems arise from bulbs with papery outer coverings. This variety develops spherical, yellow-skinned, softball-sized onions that keep well...

(Garden Onion, Sweet Onion, Vidalia Onion)

The garden onion is a biennial widely grown as a vegetable. Pale hollow green leaves and long flower stems that sometimes have bulbils rather than flowers arise from bulbs with papery outer coverings. Vidalia onions are yellow, sweet-flavored onions grown in the vicinity of Vidalia, Georgia.

Garden onions are categorized by the day length at which they form bulbs. Vidalia onions require short days (10 to 12 hours) to form plump bulbs. They are thus usually planted in fall or early winter, for...

(Bunching Onion)

Fresh grown onions just taste better. These popular vegetables come in many shapes and colors and are quite easy to grow if you have good, friable soil and lots of sun.

The onion is a perennial that’s grown as an annual root vegetable. Unknown in the wild, Allium cepa may descend from several species found across Central Asian to include Allium oschaninii, Allium praemixtum, Allium vavilovii, Allium pskemense,...

(Scallion, Shallot)

Onions in the Aggregatum Group produce numerous small bulbs rather than a single large bulb. Like other varieties of garden onion (known collectively as Allium cepa), they are biennials that originated in Central Asia but that are unknown in the wild.

The pale- to mid-green, hollow, awl-shaped leaves of these onions arise from clusters of small papery-coated bulbs. Some varieties produce globular heads of greenish-white flowers on upright stems in the summer of their second year. Hot...

(Dutch Ornamental Onion)

Dutch ornamental onion sprouts a softball-sized globe of purplish pink, star-shaped flowers in the summer. The flower stalk rises several feet as the large, strappy leaves die back. This species is a natural hybrid variant of Allium aflatunense, which is native to central Asia. Alliums are in the onion family and thus release the familiar pungent fragrance when their leaves or stems are crushed. It thrives in well-drained, even sandy, neutral soil in full sun.

Plant this bulb in the...

(Siberian Onion)

The Siberian onion, a bulbous perennial, is grown for its tiny umbels of cup-shaped pale to mid purple flowers, which bloom from mid to late summer. The flower stalks emerge from a basal clump of short, grassy leaves. Alliums belong to the onion family and thus all have the familiar pungent fragrance when their leaves or stems are crushed. The Siberian onion is native to Europe and northern Asia, where it grows in full sun and well-draining, often sandy soil.

In the fall, plant this bulb two...

(Blue Siberian Onion)

Named for its spiraling blue-gray leaves, this North Asian native is also noted for its small dense umbels of cup-shaped lilac-pink flowers, which bloom from mid to late summer. The finger-length, flattened, strap-shaped leaves appear in spring and remain attractive all season. They emit an onion scent when crushed. The leaves and flower stems grow from narrow bulbs clustered on a shallow rhizome.

Blue Siberian onion prefers sun and well-drained soil and tolerates drought once established. Lift...

(Siberian Onion)

One of the few ornamental onions to bloom in late summer, this native of Europe and Central Asia bears small dense umbels of cup-shaped lilac-pink flowers on compact stems. The grassy, pungently scented leaves appear in spring and remain green all season. The leaves and flower stems grow from narrow bulbs clustered on a shallow rhizome.

Siberian onion prefers sun and well-drained soil and tolerates drought once established. Lift and divide the clumps only when they become crowded. Grow this diminutive...

(Blue-flowered Ornamental Onion)

This ornamental onion, a bulbous perennial, is grown for its tiny loose umbels of bright blue or white bell-shaped nodding flowers, which bloom in early summer. The flower stalks emerge from a basal clump of long, green twisted leaves. Alliums belong to the onion family and thus all have the familiar pungent fragrance when their leaves or stems are crushed. This ornamental onion is native to China, Tibet, Nepal, and India where it grows in full sun and well-draining, often sandy soil.

In the...

(Drumstick Onion, Round-headed Garlic)

The drumstick onion, a bulbous perennial, is grown for its dense, egg-shaped clusters of small, greenish-pink to dark-red flowers, which bloom in the summer on tall flower stalks that emerge from a basal clump of long, linear green leaves. When crushed, the leaves and stems have the familiar, pungent fragrance of the onion family. The drumstick onion is native to Europe, Africa, and Asia, where it grows in full sun and well-drained, often sandy soil.

In the fall, plant this bulb a hand’s width...