In general intermediate day, day neutral varieties store better than short day onions, but the true storage onions are all long day. ( Copra, Courtland, Red Bull,Patterson, Pontiac, Redwing). Intermediate day onions that are touted for storage capabilities. Diamond Swan, Numex Casper, White Sweet Spanish.

To complicate matters, not all long day varieties are adapted to the same latitudes. For instance long day Walla Walla is adapted from latitudes 35-55N so I can grow it here in KC at 38.5N but long day Redwing is adapted from 43-65N so I can't grow it because it needs longer days then I get (just under 15 hours) here to bulb up properly.

Johnny's Selected Seeds website lists the latitude adaptation of most of the bulbing onions that they offer which should help you select some that would do well in Wichita.

Here in KC, I've grown Candy, Red Candy, Superstar (now named Sierra Blanca), Walla Walla, Copra, and Red Defender. Of those, Copra is supposed to store the longest.

These categories are for our convenience, not the onions. As Jack suggested, I agree to look at the adapted latitudes. Many sites including Johnny's have them listed.

I grew an Intermendiate day storage onion this year... Cabernet.

My latitude here in southwestern VA is 36.9, very close to yours (37 to 38). I have great success with Copra and Candy here. Copra is a beautiful, hard, sweet, globular, long storage onion (up to 10 months) and runs about 3" on average. Candy is similar in appearance, sweeter, medium storage (up to 3 months), and larger (runs 3 to 4.5"). Sounds like Copra would be ideal for you.

TomNJVA

Tom - I have had Candy store around 6 months several times which is also what Dixondale lists on their website. I harvested all of my onions (Candy, Red Candy, Superstar, and a red salad onion) before July 4th this year and so far no sign of sprouting on any. Even the Superstar are still in good shape but they won't last much longer IME but then I only have a dozen or so left. Time to make some onions rings and chop and freeze some.

For some reason Copra did not store well for me the only time I grew them. They started sprouting before the Candy.

I think I will check out the site listed. I've been reading good things here on GardenWeb forum about Copra. I may have to give that one a try. My Candy harvested this summer are holding up pretty well, better than the Whitewing. It has only been in the last year that I learned that onions and potatoes don't make good bed fellows for storage. This was news to me. Until this season I have always stored onions and potatoes on ther cool basement floor, in the same room. This year, they get their own rooms. Potatoes are still trying to sprout, but this was the first year I planted Viking, so maybe that's not a good keeper.

I've gardened for years. Always learning.

Hi Lonejack,

I also recall the Dixondale site as listing Candy for some 4-6 months storage, but when I checked again yesterday they now show it as "Approximately 3 months". I don't know why the change. Mine get consumed in tomato salsa and sauce before three months, so I can't say how long they would last if stored in the cellar. I grow Ailsa Craig and Candy as early varieties for canning, and Copra for storage. Planted 530 onions this year and am keeping some Candy to test their storage capability. Some of my Candy pushed 5" this year!

Tom

Tom

My mistake...I think I must have been looking at the size potential of Candy and mistook it for the storage potential on their website. Anyway they definitely store way over 3 months for me. I think my biggest Candy was around 4.5" this year. I only grew about 120 onions this year and about 45 of them were Candy. I used mostly Superstar and Red Candy in my Salsa this year and have only eaten a few Candy so far but I really like them for onion rings and caramelized onions

I think I am going to trial Pontiac next year for a long day storage onion. It is adapted down to 36N latitude which is further south than the 38N for Patterson or Cortland. I already have several things on my 2017 seed list for Johnny's so why not add another!!

My 2017 onion plan subject to change: 4x8 raised bed

44 Pontiac - Johnny's

22 Superstar - Dixondale plants

~60 Red Marble Cipollini - Johnny's

Also a couple hundred Everygreen white bunching onions scattered here and there.