Shallot Bulbils ??

[richardw]

A resent conversation i had with another garden about Shallots where the person said they were replanting there's from top set bulbils, i wasnt 100% sure that Shallots even grew bulbils, so i just replied,"oh ok", and thought, 'better to check my facts before opening my mouth'.

Anyone know the answer, couldn't find much online.

[rowan]

I have a type that produces top bulbils.

[richardw]

So how big do the bulbils get

[rowan]

They grow a bit smaller than walking onion bulbils

[steev]

Looks to be a decent size shallot; any idea of the variety?

[rowan]

I have not been able to find a name for this variety anywhere so I call it 'Thor'. I lost nearly all of them in the floods this winter but I hope a few survived, I will know when the autumn rains come in April.

[richardw]

Do they look like walking onion bulbils rowan

[rowan]

Yes, pretty much, though I don't know if there is much variation in top bulbils.

[billw]

Potato onions can make bulblets under the right conditions, so shallots ought to as well, being the same species.

[Al]

I planted a supermarket bought bulb sold as Eschalotte, it was a long reddish type (a bit like Zebrune which I believe is an onion x shallot hybrid). The bulb divided into four & two of the bulbs flowered from the centre. Each flower produced several tiny bulbils (the size of garlic bulbils) which I grew the following year. Decided this experiment was a lot of growing for not much return so gave up. If lots of bulbils were produced I might use them like seed but the tiny amount produced were barely enough to increase stock & didn't yield much to eat.

[richardw]

So Al did it have flowers amoung the small bulbils as well?

[prairiegardens]

I've never grown shallots but William Dam Seed in Canada says they carry true French shallot seed. They say a dutch company developed it so French shallots are now available as seed instead of only by bulbs. I thought you all might be interested to hear that.

[swamper]

those "french shallot" seeds have been around for years and are not the same as grey shallots which some would call true french shallots. territorial seed is a source for camelot and grey shallots. I like Sante and have collected seed from it, but not bulbils. I have never seen seeds sold for gray shallots.

i have never seen shallots or potato onions produce bulbils, but i'm not a botanist or taxonomist.

[templeton]

Feb 17, 2017 22:14:03 GMT -5 swamper said:

i have never seen shallots or potato onions produce bulbils, but i'm not a botanist or taxonomist.

One of my seedlings from Green Mountain potato onion set some topset bulbils last spring. So it is possible. Perhaps not common, tho.
T

[Al]

Feb 9, 2017 14:15:10 GMT -5 richardw said:

So Al did it have flowers amoung the small bulbils as well?

ii j
The flowers of the "shallot" I grew were normal allium type with just a few bulbils nestling amongst the blooms. The bulbils sprouted little grass like green shoots while attached to the mother.

On checking the packaging I see these were originally sold as Echalion shallots, Googling that I see this is a banana shallot, actually an onion x shallot cross. The exact definition of shallot verses onion seems very loose, but it could be that onions have greater tendency to topset than multiplier "shallots", so the Echalion cross has inherited this trait from onion ancestry.

My garlic flowers last year produced hundreds of top sets & I was able to sow thickly in trays like seed. These are now sprouting like grass, presumably these could bulk up to form small rounds which will divide into heads next year. Or is it likely to be 3 seasons before the top sets yield heads?