Multi-tier bulbils are a hallmark of Catawissa, John. It's one of the major differences between them and Egyption Walking Onions.

I always thought they were on the strong side, as compared to regular scallions. That's part of their appeal.

All the bulbils can be planted, and will grow, even the little ones.

I don't know about those that have sprouted and died back. Concievably they used up their energy growing the sprout. But why not just try a few and see what happens? The ones that have sprouted (and are still green) can be broken off and immediately popped into the ground, and will grow just fine.

gardenlad,
thanks for the response - Given the strong taste, does that make Catawissas better for cooking than raw? And if I'm most interested in growing green onions all year long, can I just save a bunch of the smallest bulbils and keep planting a batch periodically as I use them up? That would be super if possible!

Thanks for your assistance,
John

Cooking vs raw is a matter of personal taste, John. I happen to like a stronger taste, so would use them both ways. They can really perk up an otherwise dull salad, for instance.

As to continual growing, my guess is that they would. When the leaves bend over, any bulbils that touch the ground will self-root and start growing (thus, "walking"). That being the case, I see no reason why they wouldn't sprout and grow if you kept replanting them.

When I was growing them it was mostly for the bulbils. In Early America, the bulbils were pickled, like capers, and that's what I wanted them for, as part of a colonial kitchen garden I was growing at the time. Unfortunatley, if you don't keep after them, they take over the garden, and I tore out the entire patch.

gardenlad,
I appreciate your assistance. I'm going to dedicate a spot in the winter garden for Catawissa green onions, and see if they'll grow at all during our winters. I can understand about the potential for them to take over, since each planted bulb has the ability to create 100s of new bulbs (counting the tiny ones too!). But since I'm most interested in using them while they're small, hopefully that won't be a problem.

Thanks again for your help.
John

Looks to me with 1 of my Catawissas the first tier of bulbils has sent out leaf as yours had John.
Except mine didn't dry off but continued on as leaf growth.Others do have the start of green leaf coming on a few of the bulbils,maybe these will dry off.To early to tell but I do have 5-6 bulblets on those just starting the green shoots but on the 1 that continued to leaf had only 3 bulblets-they all went on to now 3=4 inches as leaf but I cannot see the bulblet anymore.Confuseing me some.Maybe a few more years experience will help me solve some of the questions,you also-a few years and more reading here.
Bill

"can I just save a bunch of the smallest bulbils and keep planting a batch periodically as I use them up? That would be super if possible!"

Yes, you certainly can. I've kept some bulbils for a whole winter and used them for [planting in spring for scallions. By the time those scallions were finished, I had fresh bulbils for planting from the other plants I had over wintered.

I am growing these scallions and selling them twice/week at a farmer's market. Most customers are pleased with them, and I also sell as 'shalllots' the large bulbs from the ground which form during production of the bulbils.

Bill, Jay:
Thanks for your insight - looks like these Catawissas will prove to be valuable members of my garden family!
John

I think that one can plant any size of Catawissa bulbils any time of the year that one desires! Small ones will make immediate small scallions and larger ones make larger scallions. Bulbil storage time apparently hasn't really been determined. I've got over a gallon of them in my garden shed and they've been there since about this time last year. The temperature extremes haven't bothered them. I'd say that there is life yet in 99% of them. The bulk of my strain began as bulbils well over a year old with over a hundred weighing only several ounces.

If a person has enough ground to play with, I'd think that bulbil planting could be staggered enough to produce scallions for 8 months in the northern zones. Should be even longer in southern zones. If someone says that the heat will prevent them from growing, I don't think so. We've had more than our share of heat this summer and bulbils are rooted and growing wherever they've touched the ground. At the same time, new growth is emerging from the parent plants and some is already almost a foot high. For certain, I can understand why the Catawissa onions were the only ones needed in the North. They are almost an onion for all seasons.

Martin

Catawissa is on the short-list of critical subsistence plants. It's tolerance to soils and climate is almost unbelievable.

I can get scallions from them for a least six months a year, and it's the six months when there is little else green. This spring I was making fabulous onion soup out of the large scallions. Unfortunately, the bulbils are not so easy to utilize. I don't care for their taste pickled, and once the skins are mature they are more labor to prepare than seems worthwhile. Unless one were in dire straits, in which case that labor would seem a mere trifle!

I think maintaining a large stock of catawissas is a very prudent idea.

Just to let you know of my experience with my Catawissa bulbil planting this spring. They were planted in April, and made nice growth till early July. At that time, they had begun basal enlargement, some up to 1", then went dormant, about the same time as Catawissas which had been fall planted, and never produced bulbils. The tops dried down and I expect they will reemerge as a group of scallions soon.