Onions are usually grown for consumption. A bulb that is as thick and firm as possible is desired here, but no flowering. However, flowers are a normal development and necessary for seed formation.
Onion blossoms can be used as an edible decoration for creative dishes
The onion blossom
If onions are grown using seeds, only onion greens are formed in the first year of cultivation. One vegetation period is not enough for the plant to create a bulb or even a flower. The formation of a tuber can only be observed in the second year. If the bulb also produces a flower, it is a pseudo-umbel, which can consist of more than 100 individual, stalked flowers.
Prevent the onion from blooming
Anyone who grows onions in the garden or on the balcony for daily consumption does not want the onions to flower. Breeding has therefore enabled the onion bulbs to mature earlier and flowers to form only rarely.
The onions that are sold in stores have undergone heat treatment after harvesting (kiln drying for three to four weeks at between 30 and 40 degrees). This largely prevents bolting during storage.
Use flowering onions
Flowering bulbs do not necessarily have to be discarded. They can be used in different ways:
- as a seed donor for the next onion generation
- as a decoration in the flower vase
- as an edible decoration
Grow your own seeds
To do this, the onion blossoms are allowed to ripen on the plant until the seeds are ripe. The seeds are ripe when their pods turn brown. Now you can harvest the flowers and cut them directly into a bowl on a dry day, since the seeds fall out of their husks when harvesting.
The seeds should be kept dry during the winter. They can be sown in good potting soil at the end of February.
Cut flower stalks
Once a flower stalk develops on the bulb, it can be cut out. The onion then continues to grow normally. The flower can bloom in the vase with decorative leaves.
Blossoming onion blossom
If an onion blossom is already in full bloom, the entire onion plant can be removed, because no more bulbs will form. The power of the plant is used up with the formation of the flower. However, the onion greens can be used in the kitchen as a salad seasoning. The flower can be eaten as an edible decoration in a salad or on a soup.