NZ Onions in Wisconsin

[paquebot]

We had a thread about Pukekohe onions and their long-keeping ability. Where they were grown south of the equator did match north day lengths for such types. Since that variety had been offered by SSE in the past, should have been someone who mentioned growing it, especially if it were any good. Well, I'll report that they are very good scallions in mid-November when set out as seedlings in May. They were planted as 3" to 5" seedlings and did absolutely nothing for 4 months. Because they were alive, they were cared for as if they were going to start bulbing any day. The first new growth was finally observed in early October. They were in two separate gardens, one average field silt and my rich home gardens. Now I have 10" plants in both places. And, some of them have divided into clusters of 3 to 5 plants. Let's see who can come up with a plausible explanation.

Martin

[richardw]

For me the Pukekohe Longkeeper onion to be dividing up in means its going to produce to flower stem in spring. Ive never had them divide in the first year growing season, always the second season after winter storage & replanting, but then sowing late in spring is a lot later than ive ever sown. paquebot I reckon you want to select out those dividers and not use them for breeding after all thats not a trait that desirable, breeding for long keeping and slow dividing is really the goal with this onion.