Perennial edible alliums

[bower]

@svalli I also was surprised to lose my outdoor patch of Hardy Evergreen, after about six years. I was especially surprised because I had given them some care for a change that year, properly weeded and fed. It may have been a pest attack - something took huge bites out of the 'french shallot' eschalion I grew last summer too. But in part it was the harsh winter for sure, as the 'perennial green onion' also was very late to emerge and looked battered. Not sure if those survived either. Luckily I had started seeds of both the previous season with some left over in a flat I didn't plant out, so I made a new bed for those and for some other things going to seed last spring, and they did fine but didn't flower at all. And I have some of them in pots too, which are back in the greenhouse. They are mixed up together though and I'm not sure how hard it will be to tell them apart. PO is the one that makes decent sized bulbs which I've dug in the fall, while HE doesn't bulb. Most years they flowered at different times with HE being early and PO late, but in really weird weather flowering times are strange, PO was early the last time. HE has stayed green in the snowcovered greenhouse all winter before, while the PO tends to die down completely, but since we hardly had a winter, all of them have at least some green sprouts.
I will definitely make an effort to straighten these out and save any seeds they make this summer.
Hardy Evergreen is available commercially, but no idea where the unnamed bulbing one came from, so I would like to not lose it.
Will let you all know if I get fresh seeds of those too.

[bower]

I'm wondering about my perennial patch of American Flag leeks as well. They were in flower with very few leaves at the time hurricane Larry cut them down. Those flower stalks were destroyed and the seeds were not ripe. I bagged them but I don't think I got any seed. Also I didn't see new shoots later in the fall. I've noticed before, that they only seem to start making 'pearls' after the flower stalks have been cut. IDK if it was too late for them to do that.

[Tormahto]

I just received and planted my Fedco order of Sicilian Honey Garlic.

It was quite the investment (in shipping and handling costs). The bulbs (10) were $5.50, s & h was $12.00. But, still not bad for a lifetime investment. I wonder how much seed they will produce.

[bower]

@Tormato I have about 20 g packet of seeds saved and cleaned for you, of the perennial flowering shallot. All types mixed together.

This thread has been dormant awhile! My American Flag didn't survive that hurricane after all. A lone surviving selection of Mammoth Leek has been sporting some pods for weeks? months? LOL they take forever. I should check.
I also have a few pods on the perennial green onions but they don't look ready last time I looked anyway.

[Fleenerstopsetter]

Are you ready to join our loosely knit club in the hunt for Fleener topsets?

I have some top setters that i got off of Heirloomonion.com many years ago that were sold as Fleeners. The website is gone and a few years ago i was able to use the wayback machine to look at it but i didnt have any success tonight.
I have several hundred now as I've let them clump up for many years i even use them as an erosion control fence at the end of my garden. People have different ideas on whatbfleeners are though but incoukd get some pictures.

[Whwoz]

Some photos of them would be wonderful @Fleenerstopsetter . Curious about them, but no hope of getting them here down under

[Fleenerstopsetter]

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Ok let’s see if I uploaded these correctly. One photo will be then in their natural clump state and the other is the Fleeners is on the right next to a typical Catiwassa type on the right. The Fleeners is up very early every year often coming up through melting snow. The first year i planted them they were one plant spaced out and grew very thick and short with only 3 or 4 leaves. I decided to separate a few this spring and see what they do. I pretty much just use the bottoms in eggs in the morning and will occasionally chew on a top while walking around the garden.

[Tormato]

Are you ready to join our loosely knit club in the hunt for Fleener topsets?

I have some top setters that i got off of Heirloomonion.com many years ago that were sold as Fleeners. The website is gone and a few years ago i was able to use the wayback machine to look at it but i didnt have any success tonight.
I have several hundred now as I've let them clump up for many years i even use them as an erosion control fence at the end of my garden. People have different ideas on whatbfleeners are though but incoukd get some pictures.

That's some username, that you have.

Will you have any of the top set bulbils to trade, later in the year?

As for Fleener's, from those who said that they had the variety, it seems to be more variable than other walking onions. Some say they get some very large bulbs (up to 3" in diameter), others say much smaller, some say no bulbs at all at times. A few people say they get round, almost squat bulbs. And, some lose all of theirs, over the winter. Most of the internet chatter was from about 2007 to 2014. I had just about given up on ever finding them. And, I still wonder if the SSE has them in their gardens.

[Fleenerstopsetter]

I have hundreds of them at summer time. Actually have a bucket full in the garage but they probably are just wrappers surrounding dust at this point. I don’t remember how big the bulbs got as I mostly just let them form clumps. They have never had an issues with winter either.

[Tormahto]

I have hundreds of them at summer time. Actually have a bucket full in the garage but they probably are just wrappers surrounding dust at this point. I don’t remember how big the bulbs got as I mostly just let them form clumps. They have never had an issues with winter either.

Dust, with brown roots & sprouts?

If stored in layers right after harvest (here, in early August with my walking onions), the built up moisture from all of them packed together makes them start to sprout. I keep them in a single layer with a small amount of spacing between them. Roughly a month later, I give away 1 to 2 gallons of them, to be handed out at the state fair.

I was down to only about 20 plants last summer, as I lost many to drought. I didn't realize that a plum tree's roots are now under them, sucking out almost all of the moisture from the soil. I planted about 100 bulbils last August, virtually all of them came up a few days ago. Late this summer I decide on how many more bulbils to plant. I like to have 400 to 500 plants, but I'll see if I can create space for about 1,000. In mid-late September I begin monitoring the weather for a predicted first frost. Just before that frost, I'll cut, wash and chop all of the greens, then pack them into the freezer. I'll have just enough to last until the new greens show up the following spring.

My guess is that clumps might form the smaller teardrop shaped bulbs. And, perhaps singles might grow larger (and maybe rounder) bulbs.