With its ball-shaped and violet inflorescences, the ball onion sets interesting accents in the garden. It may look good as a single plant, but it is even better expressed in multiples. Reason enough to start propagating…
Ball leeks can be propagated by bulbs or seeds
Use bulbs to propagate
The most proven method of propagating ball leeks is through its onion bulbs. In most varieties, these develop in the soil right next to the mother onion in summer. In very few varieties, the brood onions (also called daughter onions) develop directly on the inflorescence.
You have to remove the bulbs in the ground in order to propagate the bulbs. Dig the mother bulb out of the ground in autumn. The onions stick to it. Carefully detach them. Then they can be planted.
Plant vital spring onions
Before you start planting: Only use firm, plump, light-colored and healthy-looking bulbs! All other bulbs should be sorted out and discarded:
- Dig a planting hole 10 to 15 cm deep
- loosen the soil
- Put the spring onions in with the point upwards
- leave at least 15 cm between each onion
Sow seeds in time
Right after seed maturity (late summer) is the perfect time to sow the seeds. You can either buy the seeds or harvest them yourself. The seed pods are simply cut off for harvesting once the seeds have turned black.
The seeds are cold germs. This makes sowing at home a bit more complex. Therefore, it is more recommended to sow the seeds directly in open ground. You can plant the preferred specimens outside in spring.
When pre-growing at home, proceed as follows:
- Place seeds in damp kitchen paper
- Keep moist for 2 to 4 weeks at around 20°C
- then put it in the fridge or on the balcony for 6 weeks
- then fill the pots with potting soil
- Sow seeds 1 cm deep (dark germs)
- keep moist
Disadvantages of sowing/self-sowing
The disadvantages of sowing/self-sowing are that seed formation takes a lot of energy from the bulbs. He becomes more prone to illness. In addition, it takes about 3 years after sowing for the bulbs to flower for the first time.
tips
If you plant the bulbs in the ground in autumn, the bulbs can bloom next year.