Onions form bulbs based on day length. They do not bulb in the winter. I am not sure where you are located, but if you planted short day bulbs in a southern climate they will bulb in the spring.

Concur: short day onions finish in spring. Long day onions in summer. Day neutral in between. That said onions need 100- 180 days of growing time. Sets are almost always long day onions.

Agree. In most of zone 8 you plant short day varieties. That means onion plants not sets as most all sets are long-day varieties as already mentioned and work best in the northern zones of the country. Assuming your sets survive you'll get bulbs next summer. Or you can harvest them whenever you wish and use them as green salad onions.

Dave

If you are going to plant onions again in the future the best variety for your area is the Sweet Texas Onions 1015. They should sell it locally and it is a short day variety from Texas A&M. Plant them in October and they should make from spring until early summer.

So so the tops will continue to grow but there'll be no bulb?

Ashley, it depends on where you live and what you planted (type of onion). If you planted long day onions in the deep south, there likely won't be any bulbs. The days don't get long enough, which is what triggers onions to bulb, depending on where you live and what exactly you planted. If you live on the northern edge of south then perhaps you will have some luck with them forming bulbs next summer.

If you are not in the south but somewhere in the PNW perhaps then you will get bulbs either next spring or next summer depending on what exactly you planted.

If you did plant short or intermediate day onion sets (not sure on the availability as I don't live down south, but apparently they are hard to come by), then you will get bulbs in the spring, regardless of where you live.

No matter what you planted or where you live geographically, the onions will survive your zone 8a winter, and make green onions over winter and in the spring which you can choose to harvest.

Hope this helps.

If you bought the sets locally as onions for planting, they should be short day and will make bulbs in the spring. If you bought them in the grocery store as green onions they likely will only produce tops.

You really need to include your location to get accurate responses. There are pockets of "8a" all over the country.

Onions are unique when it comes to growing them so without specifics - location, name of the variety, source - it is impossible to accurately answer your questions.

Why not go to one of the many "how to grow onions" websites for specific details? Dixondale Farms, a primary supplier for gardeners, is an excellent resource to explore in detail.

Dave

It is not cut and dried. Sets are usually long day storage onions. In the southern states, planted in the fall they will make green onions in late winter, early spring. Typically they will bolt early. In middle GA we get long enought days around the summer soltice to trigger most long day onions. But unless we have shade and water, triple digit temps just wipe them out. I have successfully grown Spanish types but it is not really worth it. Short day types ( Grano or Granex) are much easier, plus it it nice to grow in winter. Sets for me are strictly for green onions and I even prefer

"if they are bought from a reputable local dealer they should be short day since they are the only ones that will make bulbs."

If you can buy short-day sets in your area Gary then you are quite fortunate. Even the most reputable vendors around here sell only long day sets as they know most use them only for green onions. For bulbing onions they sell only onion plants and they are short-day or intermediate varieties for our location - which is what Ashley should be growing in Texas. Regardless of the variety or their day-length, seeds or plants will always out-produce any sets.

Dixondale is a highly reputable source for growing onions info and addresses the various aspects of growing all types of them for all zones.

Dave

What I meant was if they were selling someone onions for growing bulbs they would only sell short day or intermediate varieties in the Dallas area. I remember when I lived in the Dallas area that most feed stores would sell the onion plants in bundles of 25 or 50 plants and they were short day varieties. In my area it is very hard to grow onions and potatoes due to the high rainfall (60 inches per year and clay soils).

Is garlic the same way?

It is similar, yes, planted in the fall and harvested early the next summer. It is not as day length sensitive and not categorized that way. In your climate, softneck garlic is suited. Hardneck garlic may not form bulbs as the winter isn't cold enough to provide the required vernalization.

Thank thank you! Yeah, it was just grocery store softneck. I had some elephant cloves but they seemed to be damaged and when planted, all they did was rot. The store garlic I just picked apart and planted. It's looking good.

Elephant garlic is usually pretty easy to grow, but is not a true garlic. It is closer related to the onion. I grew it while I was about 200 miles west of Dallas. It should grow well for you if you can get good looking bulbs. They are looking good. They may not grow much until spring since the weather is getting cold.