If you want onion seeds, go ahead and let them flower and get fertilized. If you want onions, get rid of the buds/bolts. Actually, once an onion bolts, the bulbs won't increase in size anymore, so might as well pull them. You can leave them in the ground for a little while, but they are prone to decay. BTW, onion bulbs that come from bolted plants don't store well.

If many tops aren't falling over I'd selectivly hearvest those with blooms and let others grow until tops begin falling. Unless you are certain onions aren't hybrid and you have only one variety you shouldn't plant seed produced by bolted plants. Seed from hybrid plants don't produce same plant. The ever popular 1015 onions are hybrid.

Onions are biennial and should not flower until their second year. So even if you didn't plant hybrid onions, you shouldn't save seeds from one that bolted. If you do you will be selecting for that trait. Don't know about you but I find premature bolting highly undesirable.

If you want to save seeds you should select a few of your better onions later this summer that grew large bulbs and didn't bolt, then replant them next year and allow it to flower for seeds.

Rodney

It's interesting. Some varieties are more prone to premature (first year) bolting than others. Lately, I grow only 1015s, and they rarely bolt. I've had other short day varieties that were quite troublesome in that regard. In fact, that's largely why I now stick to 1015s. That's a good point about 1015s being hybrids. I don't collect seeds, but I'd forgotten about that.

I haven't seen information by experts to support it but I suspect nutrients play a role in when and if onions bolt. It's widely understood that abundant nitrogen results in more vine and fewer tomatoes, whereas abundant phosphorus promotes fruiting. Home gardeners usually broadcast same fertilizer and/or compost on all their soil which means tomatoes might be happy with 5-20-10 but N loving onions not so much. Dedicated gardeners run soil tests and side dress each plant specific to it's need.

I think she was just asking if her onions were okay, she lives in rather warm winter area and has not said when she planted the onions or what type of onion she has. I don't think she was starting yet another "why do bi-annual plants flower in Spring after Winter" mystery discussion.

In the south regular bulbing onions flower (bolt) in the spring when planted in the fall of the previous year. Grows in spring one year, has winter, and bolts is spring being the second year. It is fairly common in the south. Once they go to flower, the bulb stops growing and you could harvest them or let the bees use the nectar if you so desire. As Dan said, a bulb from a bolted onion does not store as well and should be used first.

So that's second year growth for an onion. As explained here, flowering is assured in that case. No surprise. The annoyance is when some onion plants choose to bolt out flowers in their first year.

Answers often ly within the smallest details. In this case the fact plants were grown from bulbs wasn't mentioned initially. I've had bulbs sprout while in storage but never planted them.

How many can attest to quality level of greens from plants grown from bulbs? Not the little sets, stored bulbs gone bad.

"How many can attest to quality level of greens from plants grown from bulbs? Not the little sets, stored bulbs gone bad."

As long as the green onions are harvested prior to flowering they are fine. In fact, in the Catalonia region of Spain they plant whole onion bulbs just for this purpose. The resulting green onions are referred to as calcots and they are a huge deal there.

Rodney

Interesting about "Calcots" . I have never heard this term before. I have learned something new!

Now you've piqued my curiosity Rodey, I'll be planting some for the lady I staz with the past 60 years since she loves the greens. That plus I can't wait to offer the moss backs at the feed store some "Calcots" and see how long it takes them to figure it out.