Egyptian Walking Onion


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Egyptian Walking Onion!

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All about Egyptian Walking Onions....

As their scientific name "Allium proliferum" states, these hardy little onions are very "prolific." After planting them in your garden you will have onions every year for years to come! Egyptian Walking Onions are also called "Tree Onions, Egyptian Tree Onions, Top Onions, Winter Onions, or Perennial Onions."

The wonderful walking onion.

Egyptian Walking Onions are one of the first plants to emerge in the spring. The leaves poke up through the soil like little green spikes and shoot towards the sky despite the frost or snow. The blue-green leaves are round and hollow and will grow up to 3 feet in height. At the the end of a leaf stalk, at the top of the plant, a cluster of bulblets will begin to grow. These bulblets are also known as "bulbils" or "sets." Every Egyptian Walking Onion plant will produce a cluster of sets at the top, hence the name, "Top Onion," meaning they are top-setting onions.

Egyptian Walking Onions are top-setting onions.

Egyptian Walking Onion sets first appear encased in a protective papery sheath which has a curled tip reminiscent of an elf's shoe. As they grow, this papery capsule will tear open and eventually fall off.

Egyptian Walking Onion paper capsules.

When the sets become heavy enough, they will pull the plant over to the ground. If the soil conditions are right, the fallen sets will take root and grow new Egyptian Walking Onion plants, hence the name, "Walking Onion." They will literally walk across your garden!

Egyptian Walking Onion plants caught in the act of walking!

Although the Egyptian Walking Onion is a top-setting onion, it will occasionally produce miniature flowers among its sets. The flowers are about 1/4" wide. They have 6 white petals and 6 stamens. Each petal has a vertical pea-green stripe. Most of the flowers dry up and wither as the sets compete with them for energy.

Miniature Egyptian Walking Onion flowers.

An Egyptian Walking Onion set looks like, and essentially is, a miniature onion. Sets produced by these plants are generally smaller than the ordinary annual garden variety onion sets. They range in size from 1/4 inch to 1 inch in diameter. Each cluster can have as few as 2 sets, or as many as 20 sets. Sometimes a new leaf stalk will emerge from a cluster of top-sets like a little branch, and a second cluster will grow from it, hence the name, "Tree Onion."

The Tree Onion: top sets are branching from top sets.

In the ground, the Egyptian Walking Onion plant produces a small onion which can be harvested. If left in the ground, the onion will produce offsets and form a group of onions. New leaves and topsets will grow from the onions each year. The Egyptian Walking Onion is a perennial onion.

An example of an Egyptian Walking Onion with roots and offsets.

How and when to plant your Egyptian Walking Onion sets

Plant each "set" in the soil about 1-2 inches deep in full sun. Soil should be slightly moist and well drained. Egyptian Walking Onions hate wet feet! Plant in rows about 1 foot apart. The sets should be spaced approximately 3-6 inches apart in each row. Plant in full sunlight. Egyptian Walking Onion sets can also be planted in clusters. When planted this way they make a great addition to your herb garden. They can even be planted in pots to be kept outside or indoors. They can be planted any time of the year even in the winter as long as the ground isn't frozen or covered with snow. However, fall is the optimal time to plant them so they can develop a strong root system and be ready for good growth the following spring. The following is a list of what to expect when planting your sets at different times of the year:

Spring:	Sets will grow throughout the spring and summer into fully mature plants. A fully mature plant will have an onion bulb in the ground, leaf stalks, and topsets. Since it is the plant's first growing season, it will be relatively small compared with a plant that is 2 or 3 years old.
Summer:	Sets planted at this time will grow roots and leafstalks, and have some onion bulb development in the ground, but they probably will not produce topsets. It all depends on the length of your summer (the latitude in which you live) and when during the summer you planted your sets. If you planted your sets early enough and you have a long enough summer growing season, then your plants might produce topsets.
Fall:	Sets planted at this time will grow roots and leafstalks only. The leafstalk will die back for the winter. The onion bulb will develop a little in the ground and store enough energy to carry the plant through the winter. A leafstalk will reemerge in the spring and the plant will grow throughout the spring and summer to maturity.
Winter:	Sets are planted at this time of the year only if the soil is not frozen solid. If you can dig a 1" to 2" deep hole in the soil, then you can plant your sets. The sets will not grow much at all - maybe a little bit of root growth only, unless you live where the winters are mild. If this is the case, you might also get a leafstalk. When planting in the winter, mulching is a good idea. In fact, mulching is good practice at any time of the year. Mulching keeps the weeds down, prevents unnecessary water evaporation and erosion, and fertilizes your plants.

Egyptian Walking Onions are perennial plants and will grow back each year and yield new and bigger clusters of sets on the top and new onion offsets in the soil. During their first year of growth they may not produce topsets. You might see only greens. But don't be disappointed, your Egyptian Walking Onion plants will grow back the following year in full force and produce their first clusters of topsets. Once established, plants may be propagated by division or by planting the sets that grow from the top. Egyptian Walking Onions are extremely hardy plants. Our plants have endured harsh winters with temperatures plummeting down to -24° below zero! Hence the name, "Winter Onion." They grow well in zones 3-9.

Egyptian Walking Onion sets growing green stalks of their own,
like miniature versions of the plant itself.

How to harvest your Egyptian Walking Onions

Harvesting the topsets:

In mid to late summer and autumn the top-sets may be harvested. Be sure to remove any bulblets (sets) that have fallen to the ground if you do not want them to self-sow in their new locations. Despite their name, these plants are very easy to control and keep from spreading just by harvesting the top-sets.

Harvesting the greens:

The greens (leaves) may be cut and harvested at any time. If you harvest all the greens from one plant, the plant will probably not be able to produce topsets for that year. If the plant is producing several leaf stalks, just harvest one or two of smaller side leaves, and the plant should still produce topsets. Soon after you have harvested the leaves from an Egyptian Walking Onion plant, new leaves will start to grow in their place which can be harvested again. If you live in a mild climate, your Egyptian Walking Onion plant may produce greens all year round.

Harvesting the onion bulbs in the ground:

The onions at the base of the plant that are growing in the ground can be harvested in late summer and fall. Be sure to leave some onions in the ground for next year's crop. Bigger onions may be obtained by cutting off the topsets before they develop that way the plant can put that energy into the onion bulb in the ground instead of into the topsets.

How to eat your Egyptian Walking Onions

Egyptian Walking Onions taste just like a regular onion, only with a bit more pizzazz! The entire plant can be eaten. Small onions form at the base in the soil. They can be eaten and prepared just like any other onion. The hollow greens may be chopped to eat like chives or green onions. They are excellent when fried, cooked in soups, or raw in salads. The bulblets that grow from the top are excellent when peeled and fried. You can even pickle them. Or just pop them in your mouth like popcorn! Watch out, they're a little spicy!

A cluster of Egyptian Walking Onion plants in an herb garden.

Egyptian Walking Onion names

Taxonomic names

Allium cepa var. proliferum

Egyptian Walking Onions are proliferous. A proliferous plant produces new individuals by budding. This type of plant also produces offshoots, especially from unusual places. In the case of the Egyptian Walking Onion, an offshoot will grow out form cluster of sets. Proliferous plants produce an organ or shoot from an organ that is itself normally the last, as a shoot or a new flower from the midst of a flower. In the case of the Egyptian Walking Onion, a cluster of topsets grows from a cluster of topsets forming a multi-tiered plant.

Allium cepa var. bulbiferous

Egyptian Walking Onions are bulbiferous. They produce bulbs!

Allium cepa var. viviparum

Egyptian Walking Onions are viviparous. They produce bulbils or new plants rather than seed. Egyptian Walking Onion sets germinate while still attached to the parent plant. They can be seen growing leaves and roots before they ever touch the ground.

Roots and leaves growing from a pair of sets
still attached to the parent plant.

Common names:

"Egyptian Walking Onion" or "Walking Onion"

The name "Egyptian" is very mysterious. The ancient Egyptians worshipped onions. They believed that its spherical shape and concentric rings symbolized eternal life. Onions were even used in Egyptian burials for the pharaohs. Small onions were found in the eye sockets of Ramesses IV. It is not known whether this particular species of onion came from the Egyptians or not. The "Egyptian" part of the name remains a mystery. Maybe the name refers to the way they walk.....do they "walk like an Egyptian?"

The name "Walking Onion" was given to this plant because it literally walks to new locations. When the cluster of topsets becomes heavy enough, it will pull the plant over to the ground. Depending on how tall the plant is and where the bend occurs, the topsets may fall between 1 to 3 feet away from the base of the plant. Here they will take root and grow new plants. When these new plants mature their topsets will eventually hit the ground and start the process all over again. Egyptian Walking Onion plants can walk between 1 and 3 feet per year!

"Tree Onion"

Egyptian Walking Onions are known for their ability to grow a twisting stalk from the cluster of sets at the top of the plant. Another cluster of sets will grow at the end of this second stalk giving the plant a branching, tree-like appearance.

"Top Onion", "Topset Onion", or "Top Setting Onion"

Egyptian Walking Onions grow a cluster of sets at the top of the plant instead of seeds.

"Winter Onion"

These Onions can survive freezing cold winters with temperatures plummeting well below -24°! They are hardy to zone 3.

Egyptian Walking Onion taxonomy

Kingdom:	Plantae (plants)
Division:	Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
Class:	Liliopsida (monocotyledon - having one seed leaf)
Order:	Liliales (lily family, water-hyacinth family, iris family)
Family:	Alliaceae (lily family)
Genus:	Allium (onion)
Species:	cepa
Variations:	proliferum bulbiferum viviparum	all are synonymous

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Simon and his brass Pet-Paw