Solbunch Scallions New · Oct 2026
Solbunch (F1) — Allium fistulosum, hybrid bunching onion; seed from Pike (Oct 4)
Annual scallion, 60 days. 15" blue-green stalks over a small 3/4" tender bulb at the root end — bred for grilling whole (cebollitas). F1 hybrid, so saved seed will not come true: resow rather than seed-save, unlike the open-pollinated Evergreen and White Lisbon. Sow in the cinder-block holes and bed edges.
Growing stages
What to look for, and what to do, at each point in its lifeSolbunch is an F1 hybrid bunching onion (Allium fistulosum) grown as an annual scallion in Luke's garden -- about 60 days from sowing to pull, with 15-inch blue-green stalks over a small, tender 3/4-inch bulb at the root end that is bred for grilling whole as cebollitas. Unlike the open-pollinated Evergreen Bunching, which is the perennial clump-forming workhorse of the allium station, Solbunch is resown in succession rather than seed-saved, because hybrid seed will not come true.
- 1
Direct sowing
Any time soil is above 45F and ideally 60-85F. In Decatur that means roughly Feb-May and again Aug-Oct; an early-October sowing is well inside the window and overwinters for an early spring cut.You'll see Seed is small, black and angular. In 10-15 days thin grass-like loops push through, straightening into single blue-green threads.
Do Sow 0.25-0.5 inch deep and deliberately thick in a band -- crowding is what you want for scallions.
- 2
Stalk building
3-7 weeks after sowingYou'll see Upright hollow blue-green leaves thicken and the base lengthens into a clean white shank; a slight swelling begins where the shank meets the roots.
Do Keep evenly watered; a light nitrogen feed every 3 weeks keeps stalks tender rather than fibrous.
- 3
Harvest
About 60 days from a warm-season sowing; nearer 75-85 days from an October sowingYou'll see Stalks stand roughly 15 inches, pencil to thumb thick, with a firm 3/4-inch white bulb at the base.
Do Pull the whole plant, bulb and all, with a slight twist -- or cut above the bulb and leave the roots to push a second, thinner flush.
- 4
Overwintering
Mid-November through FebruaryYou'll see Growth stalls and the blue-green goes slightly duller; leaf tips may burn in a hard freeze while the shank stays sound.
Do Leave them standing. Hoops and AG-19 row cover over the block or bed edge keep the leaves presentable through the worst nights.
- 5
Second-spring bolting, and what being an F1 actually limits
March-May of the following spring, for anything left standingYou'll see A thick hollow scape rises from the center of the plant, topped by a round papery sheath that opens into a globe of small white flowers.
Do Cut a bolted patch back to about 2 inches above the soil and let it push fresh growth; just do not expect saved seed to reproduce the variety.
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.