One of the onions I grew from a seedling last season has started to sprout, now this might be a really stupid question but – what happens if you plant a sprouting onion? Does it do the same as a garlic bulb and grow heaps of onions off the sides? :shrug:
From what I’ve read, if it’s a normal onion, it won’t split and form other onions. The only onions that do that are potato onions (shallots will do this too).
As with most things in life I suppose your onion wants to reproduce. My guess it will grow, flower and hope to go to seed to continue it’s circle of life. I am no expert, I have never grown onions just my guess..
Most onions are biennial, they grow one season and make a bulb then the second season they flower and die. There are a handfull of onions that do not follow this cycle and timing can change things but that is generally how it works.
Most of the time if you grow your onion on again you will not be able to eat it as all the energy will go into the flower. You can let it flower and collect hundreds of seed to plant next year.
I have grown onions from the discarded base of an onion that we cut up for cooking. They normally grow faster than seed and produce two or three onions.
I have also read about someone growing onions from the sprouted onions, they cut off the flesh of the onion first and that made sure the plant did not have enough stored energy for it to flower.
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