Topsetting leeks

[templeton]

Ok.
We are all familiar with topsetting onions, those that form bulbils instead or in addition to flowers in the inflorescence which we've been discussing at length.
Garlic, or at least some of the hard necks do the same.
Ferdzy has just reported this phenomenon in shallots.
And today, I've found some leeks doing the same. Elefant variety. Of 3 plants going to seed in my neglected plastic house, one had little bulbils in amongst the seed capsules. See attached pic. All three were producing little offset bulbs around the base as well. I have bagged the seed separately. And planted the bulbils.
I think someone reported this in some other alllium last year. Bulb onions, perhaps?
Just thought i would report it FYI.
T

Attachments:

[galina]

Templeton, I get that all the time, very common in years when due to a lot of rain the seed making mechanism isn't working too well for my leeks.

This is a propagation 'insurance policy' that leeks have. Exhibition growers shave the flowers off their leeks and harvest the bulbils and grow from these bulbils only, to get the same giant leeks year after year.

However, I have never (yet) seen it on Elephant garlic, nor have I seen viable seeds on Elephant Garlic. Did you mean Elephant garlic when you said Elephant leek? EG is supposedly a type of leek, rather than a true garlic. I usually cut off my flower scapes as soon as they appear on EG - will leave some and look for bulbils.

Thanks for reporting it. RichardW's very unusual topsetting onion and Ferdzy's shallot bulbils all point in the same direction. Maybe alliums in many parts of the globe have an increased tendency for this because of stress due to climate changes and unusual weather patterns in many parts. Such events drive mutation perhaps? Certainly fascinating.

[ottawagardener]

There was actually a post about this not to long ago. I'll try to find it.

[ottawagardener]

alanbishop.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=onions&action=display&thread=7070

[ottawagardener]

My blog post where you can see the little bulbils: veggiepatchreimagined.blogspot.ca/2012/12/finally-threshing-leek-seeds.html

[templeton]

Galina,
It's an otherwise normal leek. The variety is Elefant, with an F. From 'The Lost Seed Co. in Aust.
These were in a foam box in my plastic house over summer, and were quite stressed for water off and on, so the stress reproduction makes sense.

I dug up some ruderal (been waiting to use that in sentence!)ampeloprasum garlic (=Russian garlic, elephant garlic) from some waste ground next to a rail line in early summer which was in flower, and transplanted it, hoping for some cross pollination into my generic leeks in the vege patch. Didn't check for fertility.
We don't have the tradition of giant vege competitions here that seems to trigger all sorts of interesting techniques in the UK.

ps, I've harvested the potential Xed up seed, so must try and find room for a grow out.
T

[templeton]

Oops, reinventing the wheel.
Seemed to have missed that post,
Thanks Telsing and Galina.
( I knew Ray would be involved, somehow )

Does the disease baggage show up fairly rapidly?

I've just got my potato onion seeds from Kelly Winterton to shoot. Wonder what might happen with them?
T