Onions have seeds, saving seeds from biennial onion plants
Do onions self-pollinate? Yes, they do. This is a dried onion flower, with tiny pods full of black seeds. Onions are biennials, which means they take two full years to grow. The first year they grow a 'green onion' stem and a tiny onion bulb under the soil. When they first sprout they can look only like a tiny green 'hair' sticking above the soil. That hair will get thicker and thicker as it stores energy in the onion bulb underground. The second year, if they are left to their own devices, they could send up a tall stalk with a flower, like the one seen below. Alliums are also in the onion family, and are grown specifically for their flowers. While alliums come in many colors, this plant shown was a 'seedling onion set' that had been stolen by the birds, and moved to another part of the garden. When it sent up this pretty white flower among the hosta plants - I knew I was dealing with something different. By June the 10th, th...