No idea what they mean when they say "heat tolerant" but there is one way to know. Plant them and see how they do.

Rodney

I purchased white multiplier onions from a guy in Florida off eBay. Great service and product. Planted mine last fallin a shady area and they did well, I started harvesting in January here in SC.

here is their email: debaine@embarqmail.com

Chances are that in a mild climate, bunching onions will be a winter crop, and go dormant during the summer.

When I lived in SanDiego, I grew several onions during the winter... my favorite for scallions was a multiplying onion that I obtained from Hmong gardeners in the City Heights Community Garden. It had small leaves somewhere between onions & chives, and divided into 10 or more the first year. Here, the same onion produces clusters of small bulbs.

Some of the bunching onion varieties have stems over 1" wide, and look like leeks. I have two bunching onions going to seed this year (they flower at different times), if you contact me in late Summer, I could send you seed for both.

Thanks everyone! I think I'll just try out a few different ones and see how they do. I'll try to remember to report back someday!

Evergreen probably does ok, it was recently on the produce list of a local CSA so it grew ok for at least a season.

I have a growing environment where the temperature goes over 100 F most days for three months. The plants are in a large greenhouse which I do not cool in the summer other than opening vents. Nabechan, evergreen white bunching, parade, and guardsman all do well for me, producing sweet greens, and dividing throughout the year. I start with just a few plants from seed, and let the onions form good-sized bunches from each seed. I find that the bunched onions, selectively harvested, taste sweeter, and are less fibrous than starting lots of plants from seed at the same time. My belief is that the bunches grow so quickly once they get going that the plants end up being more vigorous, and that the rapid growth improves the flavor. Just a few square feet of each variety keeps us well supplied throughout the year. None of these varieties go dormant in the heat. I do grow others which go dormant in heat, including Egyptian walking onions, and a number of shallots. Usually the dormancy lasts for less than a month.

Renais