Italian Red of Florence New · Oct 2026
Rossa Lunga di Firenze — Allium cepa, open-pollinated Tuscan heirloom; seed from Pike (Oct 4)
Grow this one as a red scallion, not for bulbs. It is an intermediate-to-long-day Allium cepa (90-100 days), and Decatur sits too far south to finish a full torpedo bulb reliably — pull it young at pencil thickness. Any plants that do swell in May-June are a bonus baby torpedo onion for fresh eating; thin skin and high moisture mean they will not store. Open-pollinated, so seed does come true if you let a few overwinter.
Growing stages
What to look for, and what to do, at each point in its lifeItalian Red of Florence (Rossa Lunga di Firenze) is an open-pollinated Tuscan heirloom Allium cepa from the 1800s, grown in Luke's garden as a red scallion rather than for bulbs. It is an intermediate-to-long-day variety needing 90-100 days, and Decatur sits too far south for it to finish a full torpedo reliably -- so it is pulled young at pencil thickness, with any plant that does swell treated as a bonus baby torpedo onion for fresh eating. Being open-pollinated, it is the one new allium here whose seed comes true.
- 1
Direct sowing
September-October for overwintered spring onions, or February-March for a spring sowingYou'll see Seed is black, flat-sided and slightly larger than bunching-onion seed. Thin loops break the surface in 10-14 days and straighten into single blue-green threads.
Do Sow 0.25-0.5 inch deep, about an inch apart in a band -- closer than you would ever sow a bulb onion.
- 2
Shank lengthening
6-10 weeks after sowing, slower through winterYou'll see A single upright blue-green leaf fan over a lengthening shank that begins to blush red-purple from the base upward.
Do Keep weeded -- onions lose badly to competition -- and water an inch a week when rain is short.
- 3
Pulling as red scallions
50-70 days from a spring sowing; late winter into spring from an October sowingYou'll see Shanks are pencil-thick, straight and flushed red-purple, with no swelling yet at the base.
Do Pull whole with a twist, thinning out of the band so the plants left behind gain room.
- 4
Partial bulbing -- the bonus, not the plan
May into June, as day length peaksYou'll see On the widest-spaced plants the base swells into a short, elongated red torpedo, 3-4 inches at best rather than the 7-10 cm of its Italian home ground.
Do Lift them once the swelling stops; do not wait for tops to fall as you would with a short-day bulb onion.
- 5
Second-year bolting and seed saving
Spring of the second yearYou'll see A thick hollow scape rises and opens into a globe of small white-to-pink flowers, drying to a papery brown head full of black seed.
Do Leave two or three of the best plants unharvested if you want seed; pull the rest before they bolt.
Techniques — transplant, prune, propagate, divide, seed
Full sun
Even moisture; ease off before harvest.
Bags/cells; 24" round felt bags for the allium station. Bulb onions get their own ground…
Feed early; STOP feeding garlic/onions 3–4 weeks before harvest.
Care
- Cut garlic/onion scapes immediately to redirect energy to bulbs.
- Fall planting: order seed garlic July–Aug; onion transplants order mid-Oct for a mid-Nov ship (Dixondale). Garlic goes in in October, onion transplants in November.
- Buy onion transplants rather than starting from seed — onion seed is viable only 1–2 years and wants 8–10 weeks in flats.
Harvest
Onions when tops flop; garlic when lower leaves brown. Granex/sweet onions that bolt early can be harvested as spring onions.
Watch for
Early bolting in warm spring — harvest as spring onions if it happens.